Evolution of NATO’s Conception of Defence Expenditure of Member States After 1990

Abstract

Goal – to analyse defence spending in the light of NATO decisions and the geopolitical situation. Research methodology – the article reviews NATO’s strategy and decisions on defence spending and security, analyses defence spending based on SIPRI and World Bank data. Score/results – the carried out analysis allowed for the positive verification of the first hypothesis which assumed that defence spending is influenced by NATO’s political decisions and assessment of the security situation. The second research hypothesis, which assumed that more prosperous NATO countries (having high GDP per capita) have higher defence spending (as% of GDP), was not confirmed. Originality/value – research on the defence spending of NATO countries is particularly important in the view of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The obtained results will provide a better understanding of the factors determining the amount of security funding in the North Atlantic region and the world.