20. SIPRIs Dr. Nan Tian on how much money the world spent on their military in 2022

Merk, intervjuet foregikk på engelsk. For the 8th year in a row, global military spending reached an all-time high in 2022, according to the 2022 Military Expenditure database published by The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Every year, SIPRI provides an incredibly valuable database on how much money the world spent on the military the previous year, allowing us to track these annual developments. What are the consequences of governments continuing to increase military funding year after year? Our general manager sits down with Dr. Nan Tian, a Senior Researcher with SIPRI, for an enlightening conversation as he contextualizes this expansive report. By walking us through the historic trends and current events behind the data, our conversation touches upon the war in Ukraine, global inflation, and the climate crisis - among several other topics. In this interview, Dr. Nan Tian gives meaning to the colossal amount of money being spent on the military each year. Listen to also find out why considers himself to be a ‘worried optimist’ and how he remains hopeful in his research for peace. Nan Tian is a Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, where he is responsible for monitoring and managing the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database. His research interests focus on the causes and impact of military expenditure and civil war. His doctoral thesis is titled 'Military Spending, Conflict and Development' and explores the relationship between military spending, civil conflict and economic development. He previously worked at the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as an economist on climate change and was a lecturer at the University of Cape Town, South Africa (SIPRI website, 2023). This is part two of a two-part conversation. On episode 19, we spoke with Matt Korda who told us about the latest numbers on nuclear weapons and their development specifically.