Table of Contents

Indefensible: Setting the Scene Introduction Section 1: There Is No Problem Myth 1: Higher Defense Spending Equals Increased Security Myth 2: Military Spending Is Driven by Security Concerns Myth 3: We Can Control Where Weapons End Up and How They Are Used Myth 4: The Defense Industry Is a Key Contributor to National Economies Myth 5: Corruption in the Arms Trade Is Only a Problem in Developing Countries Myth 6: National Security Requires Blanket Secrecy Section 2: The Arms Trade Can't Be Beaten Myth 7: Now Is Not the Time Conclusion: Change Is Possible

Promotional Information

An essential handbook for all those seeking to debunk the myths that underpin the global arms trade.

About the Author

Paul Holden is a historian and researcher. His previous books include Who Rules South Africa? (2012), The Devil in the Detail: How the Arms Deal Changed Everything (2011) and The Arms Deal in Your Pocket (2008). He was also lead researcher on Andrew Feinstein’s book The Shadow World (2012) and on the documentary feature of the same name released in 2016. He currently works as director of investigations at Corruption Watch UK.

Reviews

In an unflinching assessment of the arguments that support the global trade in conventional weapons, Holden holds this new book up to its title, finding such myths to be indefensible.'
*Arms Control Today*

Debunks the myths commonly used to defend the indefensible. The author helps us to recognise those myths on the basis of a breathtaking, well-researched array of cases, and leads us to the conclusion that change is not only needed, but is actually possible.
*Ana Gomes MEP, member of the EU Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs*

Bristling with facts, figures, and incisive case studies, Indefensible shines a bright light on the dark underbelly of the global arms trade. Cynicism, corruption, and sheer stupidity have produced a world awash with weapons. Holden and his collaborators show how we got into this mess and offer a way out.
*Andrew J. Bacevich, author of America's War for the Greater Middle East*

Essential reading for all those who believe that there are alternatives to the incessant cycle of wars and conflict. It is a calm and systematic analysis, which leaves the reader in no doubt that the arms trade can and must be challenged.
*Anna Macdonald, Control Arms*

Holden and his colleagues’ measured, succinct and cogent analysis of the shallowness of conventional wisdom is invaluable. This excellent book deserves the widest possible readership.
*Nicholas Gilby, author of Deception in High Places: A History of Bribery in Britain's Arms Trade*

A ground breaking effort in myth-busting, bringing together the foremost scholars on the global arms trade to untangle the web of lies surrounding this deadly industry. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the players who make modern warfare and all its attendant suffering possible.
*Nick Turse, investigative journalist and author of Kill Anything that Moves*

Indefensible not only explains what is wrong with the arms trade, but also provides us with the tools needed for change.
*Wendela de Vries, Dutch Campaign Against the Arms Trade*