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New trends and developments in border tensions between China and India

Dr Petr Topychkanov

While de-escalating the over one month-long stand-off in disputed areas in the Himalayan region, Chinese and Indian troops clashed again on 15 June.

A cautionary tale of military expenditure transparency during the great lockdown

Dr Nan Tian

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically changed the world we inhabit. Not only has there been unimaginable human suffering worldwide, but the necessary protective measures implemented by governments around the world have caused an economic fallout far worse than the 2008–2009 financial crisis and unprecedented since the Great Depression of 1929.

Using official development assistance to strengthen small arms and light weapons controls: Opportunities and risks

Dr Mark Bromley and Giovanna Maletta

One of the many events that has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is the seventh Biennial Meeting of States (BMS) on the United Nations Programme of Action (UNPOA) on small arms and light weapons (SALW), which was due to take place this week in New York but has been postponed to 2021.

Coronavirus shocks to human development and sustaining peace

Dr Marina Caparini

The pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a massive systemic shock entailing both a public health catastrophe and a profound economic crisis. This blog briefly examines the dual crisis especially as it affects countries of the Global South.

The high cost of insecurity: The case of Hodh el Gharbi in Mauritania

Dr Virginie Baudais

From January until November 2019, SIPRI’s Sahel and West Africa Programme and its research partners in the Sahel region have documented the spill-over effects of the 2012 Malian crisis. This blog builds on the findings of research carried out by SIPRI and its partners in Mauritania during September 2019 and uses semi-structured interviews that were conducted in the administrative region of Hodh el Gharbi which is located in the south east of Mauritania bordering Mali.

From the Malian crisis to the Sahel breakdown: An overview of SIPRI’s work in the G5 Sahel region

Dr Grégory Chauzal

The Sahel has long been one of Africa’s most fragile regions, but the growing insecurity associated with the 2012 Malian crisis has exacerbated chronic vulnerabilities.

Renewable energy as an opportunity for peace?

Vane Moraa Aminga

Growth in global energy demands due to population and economic growth has caused energy-sector emissions to rise and surpass historic records. Clearly, efforts to sustainably mitigate climate change must therefore utilize renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and sustainably harnessed biomass.

Why it is important to register violent deaths

Dr Caroline Delgado

Last week the website for the Global Registry of Violent Deaths (GReVD) was launched. The main objective of GReVD is to create a registry for every violent death and thereby improve the precision of the current reported numbers of violent deaths—which are all estimates. This blog post emphasizes the importance of counting violent deaths and outlines some of the main challenges to do so.

NATO in a climate of change

Rickard Söder

During last year's Munich Security Conference, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke about facing an increasingly more uncertain and unpredictable security environment.

Will Europe’s latest move lead to the demise of the Iran nuclear deal?

Dr Tytti Erästö and Dr Tarja Cronberg

Last week France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the so-called E3) announced that they would trigger the dispute resolution mechanism (DRM) of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal.