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The Political Economy of Defence

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Book cover Canadian Defence Policy in Theory and Practice

Part of the book series: Canada and International Affairs ((CIAF))

Abstract

As a small open economy, Canada depends heavily on trade with other nations for its economic prosperity and depending on the year, between 70 and 80% of trading activity is with the United States. This chapter deals with the political economy of defence by examining the issue of national defence, one of the few areas of sole federal jurisdiction in Canada. The chapter addresses the interplay between domestic politics when contextually appropriate, the economic connections to the United States and how that relationship influences military procurement and the defence industrial base. The chapter discusses the fiscal and economic environment highlighting the international factors, national drivers and consequent federal government priorities that constrain the discretionary spending available to federal departments including the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The chapter discusses the existing defence policy, the roles and tasks that are given to the Canadian Forces and the then discusses the procurement process utilized by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces including the defence industrial base that supports Canada’s defence department.

Some of the concepts and empirics discussed in this chapter are based on earlier work by the authors. See Stone and Solomon (2005, pp. 145–169), Stone (2008, pp. 339–355), and Solomon (2009, pp. 111–139; 2010, pp. 17–26).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Defence Studies, Canadian Forces College, Toronto, ON, Canada

    J. Craig Stone

  2. Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Binyam Solomon

Authors
  1. J. Craig Stone
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  2. Binyam Solomon
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Correspondence to J. Craig Stone .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Thomas Juneau

  2. Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Philippe Lagassé

  3. Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Srdjan Vucetic

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Craig Stone, J., Solomon, B. (2020). The Political Economy of Defence. In: Juneau, T., Lagassé, P., Vucetic, S. (eds) Canadian Defence Policy in Theory and Practice. Canada and International Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26403-1_9

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