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| NEWS |
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| Global arms trade: USA increases dominance; arms flows to the Middle East surge, says SIPRI |
| SIPRI launched new data on international arms transfers. The report shows that the volume of international transfers of major arms in 2014–18 was 7.8 per cent higher than in 2009–13 and 23 per cent higher than in 2004–2008. |
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Read more | Download the report
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| SIPRI report explores the challenges posed by emerging technologies to the control of biological weapons |
| Advances in additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence and robotics could increase the possibilities for the development, production and use of biological weapons. The existing biological arms control and non-proliferation governance framework needs to be adapted to address these security risks, according to the new SIPRI report, ‘Bio Plus X: Arms Control and the Convergence of Biology and Emerging Technologies’. |
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Read more | Download the report | Read more about the launch event at the conference at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin
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| Annual Review 2018 |
| SIPRI released Annual Review 2018 which looks at the Institute’s highlights from the previous year. Particular areas of focus are SIPRI’s work on newly emerged technologies and a knowledge partnership which examines the linkages between conflict and food security. |
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Download Annual Review 2018
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| COMMENTARY |
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| Exploring elusive stability in the Sahel |
| Despite an expanding cast of security actors responding to conflicts in Mali, insecurity is escalating and spreading across the Sahel region. An attack by a Dozo hunting militia on 23 March 2019—the deadliest in the region since 2013—indicates an increasingly volatile security environment with entrenched, intercommunal grievances. In light of these developments, this SIPRI Topical Backgrounder takes stock of the security challenges faced by Sahel countries. |
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Read the SIPRI Topical Backgrounder
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| Coordinating arms transfer and SALW control assistance: What role for the Arms Trade Treaty? |
| The 2013 Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) includes specific provisions to assist states to implement the treaty including the creation of a Voluntary Trust Fund (VTF). However, the VTF is just one of the many instruments available for states. This blog post examines how the ATT Secretariat has worked to avoid overlap between the VTF and other similar mechanisms. It also highlights future challenges posed to the VTF and other assistance providers. |
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Read the WritePeace blog
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| Unpacking the Afghan peace talks: Inclusion of women in the process and achieving durable peace |
| In celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March, this blog post examines the significance of the absence of women in peace processes. It specifically looks at how Afghan women have participated in the peace process during the post-Taliban period and investigates how a more inclusive process can be introduced to promote durable peace. |
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Read the WritePeace blog
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| The NPT and the TPNW: Compatible or conflicting nuclear weapon treaties? |
| The 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was negotiated with the purpose of strengthening the largely unimplemented disarmament pillar of the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Yet, one of the main criticisms against the TPNW has been its alleged incompatibility with the NPT. This blog post assesses these conflicting claims and asks if the increasing number of TPNW ratifications should be seen as good or bad news for the international nuclear order. |
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Read the WritePeace blog
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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| 9 April 2019 |
| After the INF Treaty…? |
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The 1987 Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) was once considered a landmark arms control agreement. Now it is on the verge of collapse. This event aims to address several lingering questions: Will the INF Treaty’s impending expiration be a similar landmark? Or had the INF Treaty outgrown its mission? And in the wake of its demise, what are the ways forward for arms control and international security?
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| 14–16 May 2019 |
| 2019 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development |
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The 2019 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development, co-hosted with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, will be held with the theme ‘Crisis response to peacebuilding: Achieving synergies’. Information about how to register for the public Open Day (14 May) is forthcoming.
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Read more
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| RECENT EVENTS |
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| 15 March 2019 |
| SIPRI partners with the German Federal Foreign Office for conference on technology and arms control |
| SIPRI was a thematic partner to an international conference on arms control and technology at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. During the conference, ‘2019. Capturing technology. Rethinking Arms Control’, SIPRI convened discussions focusing on the risks posed to arms control by new developments in relation to biotechnology. |
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| 25–26 February 2019 |
| SIPRI co-hosts workshop in Sri Lanka on the impact of emerging technologies on nuclear risk |
| SIPRI, in partnership with the Pathfinder Foundation in Colombo, Sri Lanka, held the third in a series of workshops on ‘Mapping the impact of machine learning and autonomy on strategic stability and nuclear risk’. The workshop offered participants a greater understanding of how machine learning and autonomy are shaping the regional security environments of the Indian Ocean and Indian subcontinent—among other domains—and how to take steps towards confidence-building measures to mitigate potential miscalculation. |
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| JOB VACANCIES |
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| Three current openings |
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SIPRI is currently recruiting for three positions:
- Senior Researcher, Deputy Programme Director of the Sahel/West Africa Programme (Closing date: 12 April);
- Researcher, Climate Change and Risk Programme (Closing date: 22 April); and
- Research Assistant, Climate Change and Risk Programme (Closing date: 22 April).
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| PUBLICATIONS |
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| Bio Plus X: Arms Control and the Convergence of Biology and Emerging Technologies |
| Technological advances in the biological sciences have long presented a challenge to efforts to maintain biosecurity and prevent the proliferation of biological weapons. The convergence of developments in biotechnology with other, emerging technologies such as additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence and robotics has increased the possibilities for the development and use of biological weapons. This report—written by SIPRI experts on technology and arms control—provides a nuanced picture of the risks and challenges posed by this convergence. |
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Read the publication
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| Trends in international arms transfers, 2018 |
| From 11 March 2019 the freely accessible SIPRI Arms Transfers Database includes updated data on arms transfers for 1950–2018. Based on the new data, this Fact Sheet highlights global and regional trends and selected issues related to arms transfers. The volume of international transfers of major arms in 2014–18 was 7.8 per cent higher than in 2009–13 and 23 per cent higher than in 2004–2008. The five largest exporters in 2014–18 were the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China. The five largest importers were Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and Algeria. |
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Read the publication
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| SIPRI Yearbook 2018 |
The 49th edition of the SIPRI Yearbook is a compendium of data and analysis in the areas of security and conflicts; military spending and armaments; and non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament. It also features sections on:
- debt, oil price and military expenditure;
- international non-proliferation sanctions against North Korea; and
- allegations of chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria.
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Browse the contents page | Read the summary [PDF]
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