The Revolving Door and the Entrenchment of the Permanent War Economy
32 Pages Posted: 12 Jan 2015 Last revised: 27 May 2015
Date Written: January 10, 2015
Abstract
This paper analyzes the “revolving door” phenomena in the military sector in the United States. The revolving door refers to the back-and-forth movement of personnel between the government and private sector. We examine the structure of the revolving door and explain how its very nature leads to the perpetuation of the permanent war economy. This analysis yields several important implications. First, the dynamics of the revolving door shape the military-industrial complex in a way that serves the narrow interests of select elites rather than the broad interests of citizens. Second, because the perverse incentives are a product of the institutional structure of the U.S. military sector, the negative consequences are also structural and cannot be solved by increased oversight.
Keywords: lobbying, military-industrial complex, national defense, revolving door, permanent war economy
JEL Classification: B53, H56, P50, D72
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation