In the present times, at least in the Near East, there is a growing number of weapons purchases and military conflicts. The purpose of this diploma thesis is to research how weapons sales affect the alliance between the country doing the selling and the country doing the buying, and to determine the share of weapons sales in the total exports of the exporting country. The methodology consists of several parts. The first part is descriptive, presenting a brief history of the countries, from their formation to their current political regime. A comparative analysis, which was the prevailing method, was used to compare the data obtained and show the correlations between the selected countries and the two great powers. Three indexes were used to ensure a quality analysis: the Human Development Index, the Index of Economic Freedom and the Military Strength Ranking. The aims of this diploma thesis have been achieved; the data on all orders for military equipment are the only deficient ones but they have nevertheless led to interesting results. For instance, Saudi Arabia did not engage in any military trade with Russia until 2017. Another interesting piece of data is that the USA is also cooperating well with all of these countries economically and that armament has no negative impact on tourist activity. Were the analysis more thorough, this diploma thesis would have a greater sociological and environmental impact. By raising the awareness of how a country spends its money, the people would be provided insight or the opportunity to decide whether the money should be spent on armament, on building infrastructure, or on social welfare.
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