renunciation of the use of fo.ce in international relations and mutual non-interference arlpng states. They also rePresent a denonstrable rteakening of the political will evidenced tturing thJ first special session of the General Aesenbly devoted to disarmament. 24. In the four years between the first and second special sessions of the General Assenbly devoted to disarnanent, world military expenditures exceeded 1.6 trillion tlollars. 8,/ This translates into $1 nillion being spent on vteaPons every minute of every hour of every day in 1981. As compared to an annual total of $350 billion in prev;iltng prices in 1977, annual world nilitary expendituEe in l98l- was $550-600 billion in today,s prices. 9,/ This figure, inconprehens ible by itselfr represented aPProxinately 5 per ceniof the total world outPut and was equal to 25 per cent of al1 annua-l fiietl investnents in a world faced with a near-universal slor+-down of the trends in economic arowth (see E/198L/LL3\. Roughly one flfth of the total military outlays are estinated to be going into a grc'vting stockpile of nuclear i.teapons which atreaay contains ove! t miLlion tines the explosive force of the Hiroshina bonb' Between 1977 and 1981' the international trade in arrns, lncLuding hardware and services, amounted to over $I2o-140 bitlion, two thirds of it with ihe tension-rialden aleveloPing countries which have closely witnessed or actually experienced practically all the over 130 arrned conflicts s ince the s€conil world War. v37/386 Engl ish Annex Page 12
**Analysis**
The text discusses the excessive military spending of states, the accumulation of nuclear weapons, and the arms trade, which are all related to international relations and global security. While it doesn't explicitly mention economic development or humanitarian aid, the context suggests that the excessive military spending is having a significant impact on the global economy and the well-being of people. Therefore, it is likely that the text is related to the broader themes of international relations and global security.

**Category**
International trade, Science and technology