The independent resource on global security

Essays

Punishing acts of WMD proliferation: more easily said than done

Dr Sibylle Bauer

Controlling the export of items that have military applications is a key tool in preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Coming tests for transatlantic security relations

Gunilla Herolf

A renewed atmosphere of friendship and willingness to cooperate is apparent in relations between Europe and the United States. US Vice-President Joe Biden, in his speech at the 2009 Munich Security Conference, set out the USA’s position: ‘We will engage. We will listen. We will consult.

Playing both sides: how air transport firms profit by shipping arms and aid

Hugh Griffiths

Incredible as it may seem, traffickers in commodities that help fuel some of the world’s nastiest conflicts—transporting such things as arms, ‘blood diamonds’ and cocaine—also continue to profit from humanitarian aid and UN peacekeeping contracts.