Miriam Pemberton is an Associate Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. Formerly she directed its Peace Economy Transitions Project, focusing on helping to build the foundations of a postwar economy at the federal, state and local levels.

With Lawrence Korb, she headed the annual Task Force on “A Unified Security Budget for the United States,” which examined the balance of spending on military and non-military security tools and argued for a rebalanced security budget. She also headed a team that produced three “Military vs. Climate Security” reports comparing federal spending on the two security domains, and arguing for a shift of security resources toward mitigating climate change.

With William Hartung, now of the Quincy Institute, she co-edited Lessons from Iraq: Avoiding the Next War (Paradigm Publishers, 2008).

As an Associate Fellow, she has published Six Stops on the National Security Tour: Rethinking Warfare Economies (Routledge, 2022). It provides an overview of the Military Industrial Complex and its means of perpetuating itself. And through portraits of six military-dependent communities across the U.S. it demonstrates how redirecting our militarized foreign and industrial policy toward climate security can help communities like these become part of the solution to the climate crisis.

She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

 

Latest

The War Will Further Militarize the U.S. Economy

Support for Ukraine doesn’t mean grossly inflating the military budget.

From a Militarized to a Decarbonized Economy: A Case for Conversion

In a new analysis for Costs of War, IPS Associate Fellow Miriam Pemberton lays out a case for a transition from a militarized to a decarbonized economy.

The U.S. Unveils Its New Bomber, But the Real Future is Next Door

The future of manufacturing lies in building infrastructure that runs on clean energy and transport, not weapons development.

Jobs and Saudi arms sales: The real story

For too long our foreign policy has been under the thumb of the Saudis’ oil and their wars. Getting out from under will require putting inflated claims about jobs and arms sales in their place.

New Book Examines and Reimagines Warfare Economies

Miriam Pemberton, Institute for Policy Studies Associate Fellow, “Six Stops on the National Security Tour: Rethinking Warfare Economies”

Let’s Turn Our Military Resources to Building a Post-COVID Industrial Base for All Americans

While the U.S. has pumped trillions into a world-leading military, China has invested heavily in medical supplies, solar power, and many other industries.

From Swords to Ploughshares

The private interests thriving on continuous war preparation are thwarting progress towards a less militarized world.

China Might Be Bugging US Subways — But There’s a Bigger Problem

Years of neglecting public infrastructure has undercut the U.S. manufacturing base.

Something We Can Agree On: Close Some Overseas Bases

A group of national security experts from left, right, and center says cutting some of America’s 800 far-flung outposts will save money and make us safer.

Plan to Cut Pentagon Waste Eliminates an Office Designed to Do Just That

Rather than returning the savings to the taxpayers, the plan means to plow those savings back into the Pentagon budget.

Google Employees are Rejecting Militarism. That’s a Great Sign.

Techies who’ve come of age in a country perpetually at war are saying they don’t want their talents used to kill people.

The Pentagon Can’t Keep Track of the Billions it Already Gets

For years, it has been the only federal agency that can’t pass an audit.

The Little Agency That Could Have Tamed the Military-Industrial Complex

The Pentagon’s Office of Economic Adjustment mostly missed its chance to wean communities off America’s dependence on defense economics.

Congress Just Agreed to Completely Out of Control Pentagon Spending

Military spending will reach $700 billion under the deal to reopen the government, despite reports of hundreds of billions in Pentagon waste.

Huge Military Budgets Make Us Broke, Not Safe

Backing down from nuclear war would make us a lot safer than piling more money into the Pentagon.

Climate Change is a Bigger Threat Than Any Military — Our Budget Should Reflect That

Facing financial ruin and the ruins of South Texas, some hawks want to throw more money at the military. That’s ludicrous.

Trump’s Insecurity Budget

Throwing money at the Pentagon while gutting other programs that protect Americans shouldn’t make anyone feel safer.

Trump’s Phony Populism on Military Spending

The president says he’ll protect our interests against the boondoggle weapons makers. Don’t believe him.

The Pentagon’s $125 Billion Cover-up

The brass asked for a report on eliminating waste. When investigators found some, the military buried it.