Another segment of the headline in the direction that the overall text cannot be considered relevant is the fact that the programmed costs for 2019, which are budgeted sometime in the beginning of 2019, are linked to the coronavirus pandemic that began at the very end of 2019. How could the body in charge of passing (voting) the budget in each country think and program in the budget funds for a state of emergency that has not yet happened? If the increase from 2018/2019 is 3.6%, the increase from 2017/2018 is 2.6%, from which it can be noticed that this is not an enormous deviation from the growth rate.
The funds allocated by developed countries for military purposes are huge sums that attract a lot of media attention. This is understandable because every single citizen is interested in the fact of what for and how public money is spent in his country. On the other hand, citizens have different feelings about the cost for military purposes, but the general opinion is that they are not the most desirable ones.
In this context, the research of the International Peace Research Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, which contains a summary of the amounts of money programmed for military purposes over a period of several years, is interesting. Namely, it is about the period from 1988 to 2018. It is clear that after 1998, the cost for military purposes continued to rise until 2010. From 2010 to 2014, there was a trend of a slight decrease in the cost for military purposes, while from 2015 the trend of a slight increase in the cost for military purposes began again. Naturally, a good part of this trend recently should be attributed more to the accelerated industrial and economic development around the world, as well as the accelerated technological development, which together allows many countries to increase their spending on military purposes.
However, some media in North Macedonia are trying to show the increase observed from 2018 to 2019 as an ‘extraordinary’ increase in the direction of preparing the world for World War III. This is at least unfounded because as can be seen from the histogram, the growth rate of military spending in 2019 is much lower compared to the period 1998 – 2010. In that context, if the increase from 2018/2019 is 3.6%, the increase from 2017/2018 is 2.6%, from which it can be noticed that this is not an enormous deviation from the growth rate. On the other hand, the title of the article itself is a tabloid kind and reads: “WHAT IS THE WORLD PREPARING FOR, A PANDEMICS OR THIRD WORLD WAR?: Record expenses for military needs in the world.” Another segment of the headline is that the overall text cannot be considered relevant is the fact that the programmed costs for 2019, which are budgeted sometime in early 2019, are linked to the coronavirus pandemic that began in late 2019. How could the body in charge of passing (voting) the budget in each country think and program in the budget funds for a state of emergency that has not yet happened? Funds invested in the public health system and emergency measures to deal with and overcome the coronavirus situation should be reflected in the 2020 state budgets.
Such sensationalist headlines and manipulative claims must be taken with caution by readers. We live in a time filled with emotions and unrest and such texts can only increase the nervousness and panic in citizens.
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This project was funded in part through a U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the implementers/authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Government.
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