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Indefensible: Seven Myths that Sustain the Global Arms Trade
Although there is often opposition to individual wars, many people continue to believe that the arms industry is necessary in some form: to safeguard our security, provide jobs, or stimulate the economy. For these reasons, not only conservatives, but many progressives and liberals, are able to rationalize supporting it. But is the arms industry truly as essential as we’ve been led to believe? Indefensible puts forward a devastating challenge to this conventional wisdom, debunking many myths about the industry that has somehow managed to normalize the existence of the most savage weapons of mass destruction ever known.
Editor Paul Holden, who himself has written extensively about arms deals, has compiled the essential handbook for those who want to counter the arguments put forth by the industry and its supporters. Deploying statistics, case studies, and irrefutable evidence to demonstrate how the arguments in favor of the arms trade are fundamentally flawed, both factually and logically, the contributors to this volume clearly show that far from protecting us, the arms trade undermines our security by fanning the flames of war, terrorism, and global instability.
Bringing together a range of distinguished experts and activists, including Andrew Feinstein, author of After the Party and The Shadow World, Indefensible not only reveals the complex dangers associated with the arms trade but offers positive ways in which we can combat the arms trade’s malignant influence, reclaim our democracies, and reshape our economies in the interests of peace and human well-being.
Editor Paul Holden, who himself has written extensively about arms deals, has compiled the essential handbook for those who want to counter the arguments put forth by the industry and its supporters. Deploying statistics, case studies, and irrefutable evidence to demonstrate how the arguments in favor of the arms trade are fundamentally flawed, both factually and logically, the contributors to this volume clearly show that far from protecting us, the arms trade undermines our security by fanning the flames of war, terrorism, and global instability.
Bringing together a range of distinguished experts and activists, including Andrew Feinstein, author of After the Party and The Shadow World, Indefensible not only reveals the complex dangers associated with the arms trade but offers positive ways in which we can combat the arms trade’s malignant influence, reclaim our democracies, and reshape our economies in the interests of peace and human well-being.
- GenresPoliticsWarNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
Published February 15, 2017
7 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Paul Holden
62 books15 followersPaul Holden is an investigative journalist and author with 15 years experience investigating corruption. He was senior researcher on the book and documentarry Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade. His book, The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Labour Together and the Crisis of British Democracy was published by OR Books in November 2025.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 21, 2023
2016 book makes a lot of good points. Altogether, the defense industry is inefficient and “makes us less safe,” the book argues. If we spent a fraction “on virtually anything else — renewable energy, welfare, tax cuts — the economic benefits would be enormous.”
Part of the argument: In the arms industry, “transactions may have more to do with gaining access to public funds than responding to real threats,” and in the long run, “ill-conceived wars may increase security threats.” Considering various real threats, we humans should consider other routes like “diplomacy, aid and collaborative efforts to counter climate change.” Unfortunately, we tend to use military approaches for, say, public health issues — like Ebola or “the decades-long US ‘war on drugs’ which has been used to justify aid to death squads and repressive regimes abroad,” including “aerial application of pesticides” where certain crops are grown, along with “mass surveillance and incarceration at home.”
Defense spending is often assumed to fuel economies, but the book lists four primary ways in which it can be economically harmful: The nation will have less money with which to address any economic crisis that may arise. The defense sector “sucks up skilled workers such as engineers and scientists,” and the civilian sector may not be able to offer competitive salaries (“skills externality”). If you export arms to “questionable allies,” you have to use your profits to beef up your own military to protect yourself against the people to whom you just sold weapons, which is financially wasteful and also escalates conflict. Besides, there’s a lot of corruption.
Easy to read. You don't have to be an economist. Good for someone who wants a broad overview on a matter of principle and great consequence.
Part of the argument: In the arms industry, “transactions may have more to do with gaining access to public funds than responding to real threats,” and in the long run, “ill-conceived wars may increase security threats.” Considering various real threats, we humans should consider other routes like “diplomacy, aid and collaborative efforts to counter climate change.” Unfortunately, we tend to use military approaches for, say, public health issues — like Ebola or “the decades-long US ‘war on drugs’ which has been used to justify aid to death squads and repressive regimes abroad,” including “aerial application of pesticides” where certain crops are grown, along with “mass surveillance and incarceration at home.”
Defense spending is often assumed to fuel economies, but the book lists four primary ways in which it can be economically harmful: The nation will have less money with which to address any economic crisis that may arise. The defense sector “sucks up skilled workers such as engineers and scientists,” and the civilian sector may not be able to offer competitive salaries (“skills externality”). If you export arms to “questionable allies,” you have to use your profits to beef up your own military to protect yourself against the people to whom you just sold weapons, which is financially wasteful and also escalates conflict. Besides, there’s a lot of corruption.
Easy to read. You don't have to be an economist. Good for someone who wants a broad overview on a matter of principle and great consequence.
March 26, 2020
An excellent book - well written, extensively supported by credible sources and thorough in its argumentation. Gives hope to those who want to see the tide turned. The seven myths effectively rebutted are:
1. Higher defence spending equals increased security
2. Military spending is driven by security concerns
3. We can control where weapons end up and how they are used
4. The defence industry is a key contributor to national economies
5. Corruption in the arms trade is only a problem in developing countries
6. National security requires blanket secrecy
7. Now is not the time
Myth 6 is, of course, of particular interest to victims of armed conflicts which have involved state security forces, e.g. Northern Ireland, where "national security" has been excessively used as a "reason" to obstruct the truth and delay or deny justice to victims.
The book effectively takes readers through the contribution of the global arms industry to creating and sustaining bloody and devastating recent conflicts such as ISIS in Iraq and Syria and others.
1. Higher defence spending equals increased security
2. Military spending is driven by security concerns
3. We can control where weapons end up and how they are used
4. The defence industry is a key contributor to national economies
5. Corruption in the arms trade is only a problem in developing countries
6. National security requires blanket secrecy
7. Now is not the time
Myth 6 is, of course, of particular interest to victims of armed conflicts which have involved state security forces, e.g. Northern Ireland, where "national security" has been excessively used as a "reason" to obstruct the truth and delay or deny justice to victims.
The book effectively takes readers through the contribution of the global arms industry to creating and sustaining bloody and devastating recent conflicts such as ISIS in Iraq and Syria and others.
July 6, 2018
An important topic and an important argument. However, a lot of the argumentation is rather anecdotal and lacks stringency. All in all this makes for an ambivalent read.
October 23, 2020
Did not inform me of anything that I did not know already. Shallow
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews