Jean-Pierre Boris, journalist and presenter of the programme «Eco d'ici Eco d'ailleurs», on RFI, interviews Julien Malizard, researcher at the Economics of Defence Chair and Mariane Guille, member of the Chair's Scientific Advisory Board and lecturer at the Université Panthéon-Assas, on the following theme:
«The price of peace and the cost of war»
With the return of nationalism, war is once again haunting the world. In the three months since he came to power, Donald Trump has ordered the bombing of a Syrian base. This was in response to the death of 90 villagers in Khan Sheikhoune, killed by sarin gas released by Bashar al-Assad's air force. The same Donald Trump who dropped the «mother of all bombs» on Afghanistan. And he is threatening North Korea with reprisals if it continues its military nuclear activities.
In Europe, Russia is once again seen as a threat. European countries are being urged to increase their military spending. French forces are in Africa and taking part in operations in Syria.
Arms purchases are going well everywhere. A prime example is France's success in recent years in selling its Rafale aircraft to Egypt and India, and its submarines to Australia. This is very good for France's balance of trade, which is not doing so well.
Marc Scudeletti / Safran
So is being an arms dealer a job for the future? What role do defence industries play in the international and national economies? Are those who sometimes advocate a good war to revive ailing economies right? These are just some of the questions Jean-Pierre Boris poses to his two guests.
The programme Eco d'ici, Eco d'ailleurs, «The price of peace and the cost of war», can be (re)listened to as a player or podcast on the RFI website: http://www.rfi.fr/emission/20170422-le-prix-paix-le-cout-guerre-defense-industrie-armes
Follow our researcher Julien Malizard on Twitter: @JMalizard
