The GCOMS Handbook is now available

The GCOMS Handbook (pdf version) is available here!

The Handbook was presented during a Webinar on February 27, 2018. It included presentations from Rete Disarmo and the GCOMS Coordination team.

The GCOMS Handbook is a document for campaigners willing to take action to reduce military spending in the world.

The first part of the Handbook includes an introduction to the problem of military spending. Recent global data are presented to underline the magnitude of the problem, the connection between military spending and the military-industrial complex is discussed, and the basic alternative between military spending and human needs related to sustainable development is shown. Military spending is also discussed in a framework of security.

In the second part, some precise definitions of military spending (Milex) are presented and discussed. It is shown that military spending is always greater than the figures presented by national states and alliances like NATO, because of hidden budget items. Anyway, there is no universal accepted definition of Milex, and this is a fact that makes very difficult to undertake reliable analysis on its evolution, structure and trends.

The third part of the Handbook presents the GCOMS campaign. Finally, the last part of this document includes some advice, ideas and inspiration in order to campaign for the reduction of military spending in the framework of GCOMS, by presenting a compendium of several strategies, related to public-awareness actions, lobbying of politicians and other power-holders, online campaigning, media coverage and networking.