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Weapons of mass destruction

Museum of Science and Industry in Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945
Museum of Science and Industry in Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945. Photo: Everett Historical

The Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Programme at SIPRI seeks to contribute to the understanding of trends and developments pertaining to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. It considers their implications for an increasingly complex security landscape and seeks to identify approaches to address the risks and challenges WMD pose. To this end, the Programme examines the political, institutional, legal and technical aspects of WMD governance, focusing on international efforts at arms control and disarmament, materials security and non-proliferation, and risk reduction. 

SIPRI is one of six institutes managing the European Union Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium (EUNPDC), a group of research centres and think tanks that promotes the non-proliferation of WMD. SIPRI also chairs the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament (Uppsala University) working group on ‘Nuclear Disarmament in Policy and International Law’.

RESEARCH INITIATIVES

Arms control in the Middle East

SIPRI closely monitors JCPOA implementation, tracks efforts to establish a regional WMDFZ, and follows related issues such as sanctions, missile proliferation and broader regional security trends.

Military exercise for radiation accidents in Bolsoi Kamen, Russia, 2013

SIPRI works to improve chemical and biological security.

Nuclear arms control

SIPRI analyses the causes behind the current Russian–US nuclear arms control deadlock and examines concrete measures to mitigate or overcome them.

Nuclear dynamics in North East Asia

SIPRI conducts research on nuclear postures and security trends in North East Asia.

Opening meeting of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), held in New York, USA

SIPRI conducts research to facilitate both nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and it analyses developments related to the NPT and the TPNW, including the interrelationship between the two treaties.

Inside the flight tube of a mass spectrometer, an instrument used in nucler forensics

SIPRI conducts research on various nuclear security issues including nuclear forensics.

Nuclear trends in South Asia

SIPRI explores themes such as strategic asymmetry, territorial disputes, changes in nuclear postures and the impact of emerging technologies on nuclear dynamics in South Asia.

Space security

SIPRI analyses developments and different dimensions of space security in the context of strategic armament dynamics.

Photo: Shutterstock.

SIPRI tracks the trends and developments in nuclear forces and doctrines, with a particular focus on monitoring global inventories of nuclear weapons.

 

X–51A Waverider. Photo credit: US Air Force graphic
SIPRI’s research focuses on how technological, industrial and political trends can contribute to missile proliferation risks and pose challenges to missile non-proliferation and arms control instruments.

Research staff

Dr Sibylle Bauer is the Director of Studies, Armament and Disarmament, at SIPRI.
Dr Wilfred Wan is the Director of the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Dr Lora Saalman is a Senior Researcher within SIPRI’s Armament and Disarmament and Conflict, Peace and Security research areas.
Dr Tytti Erästö is a Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Shannon N. Kile is a Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Vitaly Fedchenko is a Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Dr Filippa Lentzos is an Associate Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Armament and Disarmament Programme.
Robert E. Kelley is a Distinguished Associate Fellow at SIPRI.
Dr Tarja Cronberg is a Distinguished Associate Fellow within SIPRI’s Armament and Disarmament​​​​​​​ research area.
Nivedita Raju is a Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Dr Petr Topychkanov is an Associate Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Larisa Saveleva Dovgal is a Research Assistant in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme
Vladislav Chernavskikh is a Research Assistant in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.