Is Military Funding Only A Delusion in Winning War?

In a world of many nations, almost a quarter of the world’s population is currently living in a conflict affected zone, and many such countries are in a war or a war-like situation. These conflicts do not seem to see an end any time soon. Loss of life and grave distress are just the tip of the iceberg amongst many impacts of war. However, in the 21st century and times to come, the long term consequences of war such as poverty and deep economic depression are a matter of great concern.

Conflicts and wars have a great impact on countries’ economy, which also have long term consequences for the well being of countries and their citizens. 

Wars, in addition, not only affect locally but also have an international impact. The recent conflicts have painfully shown how global consequences of war can range from food and energy crises to increased inflation across borders and continents. Air and water pollution are not only common consequences of battles, but also bring about critical damage to local ecosystems, which are inflicted by the use of heavy off-road vehicles, construction of camps and fortifications, use of guns and bombs and forest clearing for military operations, among others.

Surprisingly we live in a world where many nations do condemn wars but on the contrary, support military aid worth hundreds of billions, and believe they are helping the nation under attack. All that the supporting nations’ are doing in reality, is building an enormous amount of debt. Due to this economic disruption caused by indebtness, the victim nation will not be able to recover for decades to come

We should all ask ourselves what are we really doing to these war-affected nations, isn’t the economic impact of longstanding war itself enough? How are we helping by making a nation weaker by sinking it in a debt created by the military funding. 

Political agenda and power claiming are just a few aspects of war, but how long should the civilians sacrifice their precious life and family? When the generations to come will ask us what we did as superpowers and more developed nations, can we justify the fact that we did not do anything else than give out military aid? We are answerable to not only generations to come but also young people of these nations. Their crucial life periods, family, and careers which they clearly deserve to thrive are standstill today with almost no hope to recover, all due to the enormous debt of their nation, which we gave them.

The poverty caused by these long-standing conflicts makes recovery even more difficult. Building a resilient economy backed by stable cooperative relations is the key to a nation’s growth. In conflict scenarios, it is our humble responsibility to come together to negotiate at least to revive the economy and help war-ridden nations to end the war peacefully. Most importantly it is high time we must think beyond military aid and help the nations to practically revive their economy towards growth and sustainability.

For betterment of humankind,  for prosperity, and for the future of the youth.

About the writer:

Kalpeshkumar (he/him)  is working in a medical device manufacturing company. Global Economy, health and sustainability is his key interest. He is a keen and avid volunteer of the UN Youth of Finland (UNYF).

*The text is published as a part of the UN Youth of Finland (UNYF) and the Finnish Association of International Affairs’ (FAIA) #VoiceToYouth campaign where young writers are given the opportunity to share their views about international affairs in relation to the Finnish parliamentary elections. The views presented in the blog texts are personal to the writers.