Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm. It was founded in 1966[1] and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade as well as disarmament and arms control. The research is based on open sources and is directed to decision-makers, researchers, media and the interested public.
SIPRI's organizational purpose is to conduct scientific research in issues on conflict and cooperation of importance for international peace and security, with the goal of contributing to an understanding for the conditions for a peaceful solution of international conflicts and sustainable peace.
In 1964, Prime Minister of SwedenTage Erlander put forward the idea of establishing a peace research institute to commemorate Sweden's 150 years of unbroken peace.
A Swedish Royal Commission chaired by Ambassador Alva Myrdal proposed in its 1966 report to establish an institute, later named the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI. The institute's research should seek to contribute to "the understanding of the preconditions for a stable peace and for peaceful solutions of international conflicts" and the Commission recommended that research be concentrated on armaments, their limitation and reduction, and arms control. The commission also recommended that SIPRI work is of "an applied research character directed towards practical-political questions [which] should be carried on in a constant interchange with research of a more theoretical kind".
SIPRI has built its reputation and standing on competence, professional skills, and the collection of hard data and precise facts, rendering accessible impartial information on weapon developments, arms transfers and production, military expenditure, as well as on arms limitations, reductions and disarmament. The task of the institute is to conduct "scientific research on questions of conflict and cooperation of importance for international peace and security with the aim of contributing to an understanding of the conditions for peaceful solution of international conflicts and for a stable peace".
The Swedish Riksdag decided that the Institute be established on 1 July 1966 with the legal status of an independent foundation.
Organisation
SIPRI's organisation consists of a governing board, director, deputy director, research staff collegium and support staff. The governing board takes decisions on important matters concerning the research agenda, activities, organisation and financial administration of the institute. Other matters are decided by the director. The research staff collegium advises the Director on research matters.
SIPRI headquarters in Solna, Stockholm
The staff of 84 employees is mainly international, with a representation of 27 different nationalities reported in 2021.[4] The researchers are recruited for specific project periods and represent various academic disciplines. SIPRI also hosts guest researchers who work on issues related to research programmes as well as interns in relevant fields whose programmes of study can contribute to and benefit from SIPRI's research.
The institute works in a global network, with partnerships and cooperation between other institutes and with individual scientists. SIPRI has close cooperation with many multilateral organisations, for example, the United Nations and the European Union. SIPRI is frequently visited by government delegations, parliamentarians as well as researchers from the academic sphere. The institute keeps close connections with the diplomatic body in Stockholm.
Stefan Löfven (Sweden), former Prime Minister of Sweden, as of 1 June 2022, Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board[5]
Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas (Ghana), former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and Head of the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWAS)
The Director, who is appointed by the Swedish Government, has the main responsibility for SIPRI's work programme. Dr Bates Gill served as SIPRI Director from 2007 to 2012.[10] In September 2012, the Swedish Government appointed the German economist Tilman Brück as his successor.[11] Brück held the position of SIPRI Director from January 2013 to June 2014. In June 2014 the SIPRI Governing Board appointed Dr Ian Anthony as Director for an interim period.[12] The current Director, Dan Smith, was appointed in September 2015.[7]
Research is conducted at SIPRI by an international staff of about 46 researchers and research assistants. The institute's current research programme centres on the following major themes:
Climate Change and Risk[27] - SIPRI examines the implications of climate change for global peace and security, recognizing that environmental degradation and climate-related disasters can exacerbate resource scarcity, displace populations, and increase tensions within and between communities.
Environment of Peace[28] -This initiative aims to explore strategies for securing peace in an era marked by significant environmental risks, including biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and the impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity.
Food, peace and security[29] - SIPRI's collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) seeks to enhance the understanding of the nexus between food security and peace. Food insecurity can act both as a consequence and a cause of conflict, affecting stability and peace at local, national, and global levels.
Governance and Society[30] - The institute focuses on the role of governance systems in either mitigating or exacerbating conflicts. Effective governance can help resolve conflicts and foster sustainable peace by ensuring justice, promoting economic and social development, and protecting human rights.
Peacebuilding and Resilience[31] - This area of research looks at the conditions necessary for conflict resolution and the promotion of positive peace, which involves building the social, economic, and political foundations for long-term peace and development.
Publications and information
SIPRI's publications and information material are distributed to a wide range of policy makers, researchers, journalists, organisations and the interested public. The results of the research are disseminated through the publication of books and reports by SIPRI and commissioned authors as well as through symposia and seminars. The institute has forged its profile by concentrating on present-day realities, providing unbiased facts to states and individuals.
SIPRI Yearbook 2024
SIPRI's main publication, the SIPRI Yearbook, was first published on 12 November 1969. The Yearbook serves as a single authoritative and independent source to which politicians, diplomats and journalists can turn for an account of what has happened during the past year in armaments and arms control, armed conflicts and conflict resolution, security arrangements and disarmament. It is translated into a number of other languages, notably Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian. The summary of the SIPRI Yearbook is available in several languages, including Catalan, Dutch, French, Italian, Korean, Persian, Spanish and Swedish.[32]
SIPRI Yearbook: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security
SIPRI Yearbook summary Yearbook in English and a number of other languages
Oxford University Press publications
SIPRI research papers and reports
SIPRI policy briefs, papers and reports
SIPRI fact sheets and background papers
SIPRI databases
SIPRI Databases
SIPRI's research projects maintain large databases on military expenditure, arms-producing industries, arms transfers, chemical and biological warfare, national and international export controls, arms control agreements, annual chronologies of major arms control events, military manoeuvres and nuclear explosions.
SIPRI Arms Transfers Database
Showing all international transfers of major conventional arms since 1950
Trend-indicator value
To quantify the volume of weapons as a single number, SIPRI has developed so-called trend-indicator value (TIV). It is a measure of major conventional weapons delivery volume in terms of its military capability, rather than its price.
SIPRI Mapping ATT-Relevant Cooperation and Assistance Activities Database
The SIPRI Mapping ATT-relevant Cooperation and Assistance Activities Database covers cooperation and assistance activities in regards to arms transfer and small arms and light weapons (SALW) controls since 2012. The database supports state's implementation of two treaties – the 2001 UN Programme of Action on SALW and the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty.
SIPRI Arms Industry Database
The SIPRI Arms Industry Database reports on the top 100 largest arms-producing and military services companies.[34]
SIPRI Multilateral Peace Operations Database
This database contains data on personnel, country contributions, fatalities and budgets for all multilateral peace operations from the year 2000 and onwards.
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database
The Military Expenditure Database reports on the annual military spending of most countries around the world.
Events and conferences
2024 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development
Within the fields of study, SIPRI arranges numerous workshops, conferences, seminars and lectures, bringing together an all-encompassing spectrum of expertise to exchange views on relevant themes. Among these events, the largest are the Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development, the Stockholm Security Conference and SIPRI Lecture.[35][36][37] The 2024 Stockholm Security Conference was held on the topic of 'Deterrence. Securing Europe, Managing the Dangers'[38] and gathered over 100 global participants across thought-provoking panels. In 2024, Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development was held in a hybrid format, featuring a diverse range of sessions, including high-level policy debates, roundtables, workshops and fireside chats on the theme of 'On the Edge: Navigating a Changing World'.[39] The 2022 SIPRI Lecture was held on the theme of 'Environment of Peace'[40] and was delivered by HE Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.
Partnerships
SIPRI is part of the Stockholm Hub on Environment, Climate and Security, which provides evidence-based insights on building security and prosperity and how to strengthen resilience in the face of a changing climate.[41] The Stockholm Hub connects the expertise of SIPRI to three other leading research institutes: the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), and the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University (SRC). The Stockholm Hub is funded by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[41]
Finances
SIPRI's financial support is primarily drawn from governments and independent philanthropic organisations around the world. SIPRI also receives annual support from the Swedish government in the form of a core grant approved by the Swedish parliament.
↑ "SIPRI welcomes new Director" (Press release). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 25 November 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Historically, arms control may apply to melee weapons before the invention of firearm. Arms control is typically exercised through the use of diplomacy which seeks to impose such limitations upon consenting participants through international treaties and agreements, although it may also comprise efforts by a nation or group of nations to enforce limitations upon a non-consenting country.
Wolfgang Friedrich Ischinger is a German diplomat who served as chairman of the Munich Security Conference from 2008 to 2022.
The arms industry, also known as the defense industry, military industry, or the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and other military technology to a variety of customers, including the armed forces of states and civilian individuals and organizations. Products of the arms industry include weapons, munitions, weapons platforms, communications systems, and other electronics, and related equipment. The arms industry also provides defense-related services, such as logistical and operational support. As a matter of policy, many governments of industrialized countries maintain or support a network of organizations, facilities, and resources to produce weapons and equipment for their military forces. This is often referred to as a defense industrial base. Entities involved in arms production for military purposes vary widely, and include private sector commercial firms, state-owned enterprises and public sector organizations, and scientific and academic institutions. Such entities perform a wide variety of functions, including research and development, engineering, production, and servicing of military material, equipment, and facilities. The weapons they produce are often made, maintained, and stored in arsenals.
A military budget, also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a state to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defense purposes.
Adam Daniel Rotfeld is a Polish researcher, diplomat, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland from 5 January 2005 until 31 October 2005 when a change of government took place. He served earlier as the deputy foreign minister. While in that position, Rotfeld established the Warsaw Reflection Group on the UN Reform and the Transformation of the Euro-Atlantic Security Institutions, with participation from leading US and European experts and politicians.
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Patricia Lewis is a British and Irish nuclear physicist and arms control expert, who is currently the Research Director for International Security at Chatham House. She was previously the Senior Scientist-in-Residence and Deputy Director at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS). She was previously the Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the Director of VERTIC.
Dr. Randall Caroline Forsberg led a lifetime of research and advocacy on ways to reduce the risk of war, minimize the burden of military spending, and promote democratic institutions. Her career started at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 1968. In 1974 she moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to found the Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies (IDDS) as well as to launch the national Nuclear Freeze campaign.
Bates Gill is an American international relations scholar specialized in Chinese foreign policy and politics, currently serving as executive director of Asia Society's Center for China Analysis. He formerly was Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Hans Møller Kristensen is director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. He writes about nuclear weapons policy there; he is coauthor of the Nuclear Notebook column in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the World Nuclear Forces appendix in Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's annual SIPRI Yearbook.
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Tilman Brück is a German economist specializing in development and the economics of peace, conflict and terrorism. He was full professor of development economics at Humboldt University of Berlin. He also headed the department of Development and Security at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).
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