A Top Global Think Tank

Dr. Elisabeth Sköns


Born: 1950
Citizenship: Swedish
Position at SIPRI: Programme Director, Military Expenditure and Arms Production; Head of Project on Security, Democratization and Good Governance in Africa: The Impact of External Actors.
Subject expertise: Military expenditure issues and methodology; arms industry issues and methodology; economics of military expenditure and arms production; military budgeting processes; security concepts; international security.
Education: PhD in Economics, University of the West of England
Languages: English, Swedish, German
Contact: Email; Phone: +46-8-655 97 35

Elisabeth Sköns is Director of the SIPRI Programme on Military Expenditure and Arms Production. She has worked and published extensively on these issues for over 20 years. Since spring 2009, she focuses on a project on external security-related activities in sub-Saharan Africa, involving both research and support for African advocacy organizations.

Current activities
  • Security, Democratization and Good Governance in Africa: the Impact of External Actors
  • Military expenditure
  • The arms industry
Former positions
  • Researcher, Swedish Parliament, 1987-1991
Professional affiliations
  • Economists for Peace and Security Journal, Editorial Board Member
Recent publications
  • Sköns, E., ‘The US defence industry after the cold war’, in A. Tan (ed), The Global Arms Trade (Routledge: London and New York, 2010).
  • Perlo-Freeman, S., C. Perdomo, P. Stålenheim and E. Sköns, ‘Military expenditure’, in SIPRI Yearbook 2009 (Oxford University Press, 2009).
  • Sköns, E. and P. Dunne, ‘Economics of arms production’, in Lester Kurz (ed), Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, vol. 1. (Elsevier: Oxford, 2009).
  • Perlo-Freeman, S. and Sköns, E., ‘The private military services industry’, SIPRI Insights on Peace and Security, no 1, 2008.
  • Sköns, E., ‘l’industria militare e le sfide della globalizzazione’ [The military industry: the challenges of globalisation], in C. Bonaiuti and A. Lodovisi (eds), Annuario La Pira Armi e Disarmo [Yearbook on Arms and Disarmament], no. 3 (Jaca Books: Milano, 2008).
  • Sköns, E., ‘Analysing risks to human lives’, in SIPRI Yearbook 2007 (Oxford University Press, 2007).
  • Sköns,. E., ‘In search of a peace dividend’, in Statesman‘s Yearbook 2007: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World (Palgrave Macmillan: New York and Basingstoke, 2006).
  • Sköns, E., ‘The costs of armed conflict’, in Peace and Security: Expert Papers Series Five, International Task Force on Global Public Goods (Stockholm, 2005).
  • Sköns, E., ‘Omstruktureringen av vesteuropeisk forsvarsindustri: markedskrafternas logikk’ [Restructuring of the West European defence industry: the logic of market forces], in Matlary, J.H.  and O. Osterud (eds), Mot et Avnasjonalisert Forsvar? [Towards a Denationalized Defence?], (Abstrakt Forlag: Oslo, 2005).
  • Sköns, E., ‘Financing security in a global context’, in SIPRI Yearbook 2005 (Oxford University Press, 2005).