Publication

This paper looks at the UK government's record on arms export policy, finding a mixture of "good" policy developments, "bad" policy decisions and implementation and examples of outright "ugly" practices. The paper reviews the UK's policy on arms export decisions with a focus on arms export criteria, transparency and the legal framework and identifies arguments that justify "ugly" arms decisions, including economic, foreign policy and military interests. The paper argues that the government must not only improve its policies, it should rather ensure that it is those policies and not other considerations that determine the practice of arms export.