SIPRI Update May 2021: New data on multilateral peace operations and military spending, SIPRI Lecture, Stockholm Forum videos, and more

Read more | Read the SIPRI Topical Backgrounder | Access the SIPRI Multilateral Peace Operations Database

This month SIPRI launched new data on global military expenditure. Total global military expenditure rose to $1981 billion last year, an increase of 2.6 per cent in real terms from 2019, according to the newly published data. The five biggest spenders in 2020, which together accounted for 62 per cent of global military expenditure, were the United States, China, India, Russia and the United Kingdom. Military spending by China grew for the 26th consecutive year.

Read more | Read the SIPRI Fact Sheet | Access the Military Expenditure Database

SIPRI was proud to host the third annual SIPRI Lecture, held on the theme of ‘Democracy in a Post-Covid World’, virtually on 24 May 2021. The lecture was delivered by HE Dr Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State of the USA. Dr Albright is known for her lifelong career of public service and her dedication to the promotion of peace, human rights and democracy. During the lecture Dr Albright concluded that, ‘Backing for democratic values must be the centrepiece of any strategy to create a more secure, stable, healthy and prosperous environment—the kind of setting in which all people can thrive.’ The lecture was followed by a panel conversation and is available to watch on SIPRI’s YouTube channel.

Read more | Watch the video | Read the transcript of the speech

The 2021 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development took place on 4–7 May under the theme ‘Promoting Peace in the Age of Compound Risk’. The Forum explored novel approaches and solutions to promoting peace in the age of interconnected political, social, economic and environmental risks reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Videos from the studio sessions and photos from the Forum are now available to browse here.

Read more | Watch the Forum Playlist

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On 13 April, Iran announced its intention to enrich uranium to 60 per cent U-235. The move comes against the backdrop of sensitive negotiations happening in Vienna aimed at rescuing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and bringing the USA back into compliance with the deal. Iran’s decision has inevitably drawn international attention because it brings the country so close to producing 90 per cent-enriched uranium, which is generally considered weapons-grade. In this SIPRI Essay Robert E. Kelley writes that although uranium enriched to 60 per cent cannot be used to make a useful nuclear explosive device, the step to weapons-grade uranium is very short, which strongly suggests that the intention was to send a political message.  

Read the SIPRI Essay

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated in 2020 into a six-week war in which an estimated 5700 people died. This topical backgrounder discusses the military build-up in both countries that preceded the 2020 war. It focuses on the role of external arms suppliers and their transfers of major arms and other military equipment to the two countries. Although the immediate causes for the war in 2020 are difficult to assess, the fact that Armenia and Azerbaijan had access to more weapons than in the past—including new types of weapon, such as UAVs—appears to have at least partly driven the escalation of the conflict.

Read the SIPRI Topical Backgrounder

The impact of conflict on food security is well documented. But does food security and feeding the hungry really contribute to peace, or is it an exaggeration? This SIPRI WritePeace Blog explores the instrumentalization and weaponization of food insecurity in conflict, addresses the role of humanitarian interventions, and the key role of government in building lasting change. In this piece, Dr Vongai Murugani argues that initiatives by humanitarian actors must be complemented by long-term national development strategies which extend to excluded communities. Food-based interventions are more likely to improve the likelihood of establishing lasting peace if they are part of thoughtfully designed interventions with the aim of developing food secure, better serviced and functioning communities.

Read the SIPRI WritePeace Blog

Ahead of the 2021 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development, SIPRI published a series of guest blogs by Forum partners linking to their sessions. The blogs cover a range of topics and can be accessed below.

• ‘Systems Leadership in Peacebuilding’ by Challenges Forum
• ‘Start Including Children and their Rights in the Triple Nexus!’ by Save the Children Sweden
• ‘Shifting the Paradigm: Power and Responsibility’ by the Principles for Peace Secretariat
• ‘Pandemic Pressure and Peace: Building Effective Partnerships in Fragile States’ by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• ‘Vital Access to Health Care and Vaccines: Challenges in Territories Controlled by Armed Groups’ by Geneva Call

Read the SIPRI report

Read the SIPRI Fact Sheet

International fora have pursued space security regulation with little progress. Among threats to space security, destructive anti-satellite (ASAT) testing has emerged as a particularly destabilizing force. With an increasing number of states demonstrating ASAT capabilities, the regulation of ASATs demands action to prevent tensions from escalating to the point of conflict. This paper gives an overview of past ASAT tests and argues that destructive ASAT testing requires urgent policy intervention. The paper proposes a complete ban on destructive ASAT testing, drawing inferences from the EU’s draft Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. The paper additionally proposes that the EU assumes the role of facilitator in the proposed policy measure.

Read the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Paper

• the state of nuclear arms control;
• transparency in military spending;
• regional overviews of armed conflicts; and
• the investigation of allegations of chemical weapon use in Syria.

Browse the contents page | Download the summary (PDF) |
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