Introduction

Abstract

In May 1992, The Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba (Canada) and the Centre for Defence Economics at the University of York (England) hosted an international conference dealing with the future of armaments production in Europe, North America and East Asia. The goal of this conference was not simply to recycle the already thoroughly-worked literature dealing the changing nature of international defence markets; nor was it to examine other well-researched topics such as the liberalisation of European defence procurement, the changing role of the state in organising defence industrial affairs, or the future of politically-negotiated collaborative armaments projects. Rather, it was intended that this conference would pursue a less-travelled course, focusing on the causes and manifestations of change in the nature of the defence firm itself. Put another way, it was the intention of the organisers to structure the conference, not simply around changes in national and international defence industrial policy, but around the way in which defence firms in NATO countries are adapting to changes in technology (product and production), the global political-strategic environment, and the institutional context in which they must operate.