Responsible arms control is an effective tool in international efforts to make sure that arms do not reach pariah states and terrorist groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that are considered to affect the effectiveness of arms control at Armscor and its contractors with a view to identifying gaps and come up with ways to address those gaps.

Responsible arms control is an effective tool in international efforts to make sure that arms do not reach pariah states and terrorist groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that are considered to affect the effectiveness of arms control at Armscor and its contractors with a view to identifying gaps and come up with ways to address those gaps.

The study investigates the influence of politics over technology to then deepen the relevance of semiconductors as part of the defence realm in the case of China. To this end, the importance of technology in warfare and the entailed trade-offs are illustrated along with the efforts to regulate the export flow. The theoretical framework focuses on finding local validity rather than a universal one, bridging politics and technology via the time factor. Hence, semiconductors are included in the Chinese defence sector showing the relevance given them by Beijing's plans for military modernisation. An overview of the supply chain allows for a better understanding of the implications stemming from its global structure, underscoring the autarky-efficiency challenges any state needs to address. Consequently, China embodies a favourable case study because of its domestic power structure, modernisation ambitions, and imposed export controls directing its choices. A thorough analysis of policies and procurement means is employed to confirm the securitisation of the technology, gauging domestic prospects, international responses, and hindrances. Finally, two scenarios structure the main drivers into plausible outlooks, sketching development in the short term and suggesting further research avenues.

The current economic crisis has led the leaders of the European states to decrease their spending on defense. This paper argues that if this reduction in public spending is not offset by the increase in international cooperation than the military capability of the region is going to deteriorate in the near future. The argument that the defense budgets are decreasing is based on the analysis of the data available for the public defense expenditures. Further six case studies of EU states are presented showing that the potential decrease in capability is observable in a wide range of EU countries. The case for greater international cooperation is based on the economic theory of comparative advantage and benefits of competition in the defense market. Furthermore, academic literature supporting this hypothesis is also presented to the reader throughout the paper. The conclusion of this paper is that the current tendency of governmental politicians of EU countries to ignore the need for greater international cooperation in the defense sector is unsustainable and that if European Union wants to maintain its position as one of the world power blocks, systematic reform of the EU defense market will need to be introduced.