SIPRI Policy Papers


 
 
 
 <p> Mineral resources have played a crucial role in fuelling protracted armed conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

The dynamic transformation of Chinese society that has paralleled changes in the international environment has had a direct impact on both the making and shaping of Chinese foreign policy. To understand the complex nature of these changes is of utmost importance to the international community in seeking China’s engagement and cooperation. Although much about China’s foreign policy decision making remains obscure, this Policy Paper make clear that it is possible to identify the interest groups vying for a voice in policy formulation and to explore their policy preferences.

Download the executive summary in Chinese

Download the executive summary

Non-lethal weapons are intended to incapacitate personnel or materiel without injuring people. This Policy Paper describes and analyses biological and chemical substances that have the potential to be used as weapons or can improve the efficacy of other, more traditional, weapons. Potential loopholes in the international prohibitions against chemical and biological warfare are presented together with practical, politically feasible and technically useful policy options.

The UN General Assembly’s decision in 2003 to invite member states to provide information on transfers of small arms and light weapons (SALW) to the UN Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) has led to a notable increase in the level of transparency in transfers of SALW. This Policy Paper is the first study to document and analyse information on SALW transfers reported to UNROCA for 2003–2006.

Conflict in Southern Thailand: Islamism, Violence and the State in the Patani Insurgency is a study of the insurgency taking place in the southernmost provinces, which pits groups of Malay Muslim militants against Thai security forces and—particularly in recent years—against teachers and other local public sector workers, Buddhist monks, Muslim ‘collaborators’, and other civilians. The conflict has already claimed more than 2400 lives and had major political repercussions.

Efforts to counter threats posed by non-state actors, including bioterrorism, have led to the recognition that public health professionals need to become more aware of and sensitive to counterterrorism concerns. As new and more effective instruments are sought to prevent biological proliferation threats, it is likely to become increasingly difficult to draw a sharp line between actions needed in the public health and security sectors.

The basing of military forces on foreign territory, at locations leased from or co-occupied with the local authorities (or, rarely, held extraterritorially), is a practice almost as old as warfare itself. Bases can have an economic, political or demonstrative rationale but in all periods their pattern has been linked with the strategic dictates and relationships of the time. Observing changes in the way they are placed, owned and used can provide many clues to the most significant trends of security evolution.