Introduction

Abstract

With the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union a new scenario in international security has emerged. The USA has become the only superpower with no enemy in sight but it still commits an inordinate amount of valuable resources to defence in spite of a large deficit, deteriorating infrastructure and lagging economic competitive ability. The European nations are no different. They also do not face any enemy and do not need the protection of the USA, but they like to have American protection as long as it is available without significant cost. The East European countries and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are in a mess, desperately trying to get a market for their weapons in developing countries.