| SIPRI Update: Global Security & Arms Control | May 2008 |
Welcome to the May 2008 issue of SIPRI Update: Global Security & Arms Control. This monthly newsletter will be your source for the latest developments in international security, arms control, non-proliferation and conflict, including recent SIPRI activities and publications.
In this issue:
| What future role for NATO in Afghanistan? | Back to top |
Tim Foxley, Guest Researcher, SIPRI
The NATO Summit in Bucharest in April saw many hints of progress, but largely fell short on the most pressing question for the alliance: Afghanistan. On the upside, Albania and Croatia were invited to join, France announced its probable return to the NATO fold, and efforts continued to convince members to take a more active role in Afghanistan.
With the personal attendance of President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan was expected to dominate the summit. Instead, old issues—including expansion, Russian influence, missile defence and French membership—took a significant share of the debate. A document entitled ‘Progress in Afghanistan’ was published to coincide with the summit and in a ‘vision statement’ NATO reaffirmed its ‘long-term commitment’ to the country. However, it is unlikely that the vision statement will bring much comfort to President Karzai or the Afghan populace.
| New SIPRI blog on the conflict in Afghanistan | Back to top |
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The SIPRI Armed Conflicts and Conflict Management Project is launching SIPRI’s first blog, on developments in Afganistan, written by SIPRI’s Afghanistan expert, Tim Foxley. With this and subsequent blogs SIPRI hopes to develop a better means of generating discussion on critical events and key issues connected with its areas of interest. SIPRI Director Bates Gill says: ‘Blogging has evolved into a sophisticated means for discussion and dissemination of ideas and policy. I commend our readership from around the world to get actively involved in this new SIPRI initiative’. The Afghanistan blog page can be reached at http://blogs.sipri.org/Afghanistan and currently contains Foxley’s thoughts on the assassination attempt against President Karzai, the implications for Afghanistan of NATO’s Bucharest Summit and a discussion on why the provincial reconstruction team concept needs to be reviewed. For more information, contact Tim Foxley. |
| New study on the European Union and effective multilateralism | Back to top |
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SIPRI Senior Guest Researcher Gunilla Herolf recently received a new grant from the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development to conduct a study entitled ‘Multilateralism and the EU in the Contemporary Global Order’. The research project will be coordinated by Dr Mark Aspinwall of Edinburgh University and will be carried out with researchers from eight other institutes in Europe, China and South Africa. Contact Gunilla Herolf for more information. |
| Upcoming SIPRI events | Back to top |
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3 June |
Future Directions in Chinese Foreign Policy This roundtable seminar, co-organized by SIPRI and the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI), will offer a rare opportunity to exchange views with high-level government officials, policy analysts and academics from Asia and to hear their views on key issues related to China’s future foreign policy. Contact the co-organizer, Chin-hao Huang, for more information. |
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9 June |
Official launch of SIPRI Yearbook 2008 SIPRI Yearbook 2008 will be officially launched on 9 June. The SIPRI Yearbook is an annual compendium of data and analysis of developments in security and conflicts, military spending and armaments and non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament. Highlights of the 39th edition include special studies on:
Contact the SIPRI Editorial and Publications Department for more information on the forthcoming SIPRI Yearbook 2008. For more details of the launch, contact SIPRI Public Affairs Coordinator Evamaria Loose-Weintraub. |
| Recent SIPRI events | Back to top |
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8 May |
Launch of the 7th annual Chinese translation of SIPRI Yearbook 2007 SIPRI Director Bates Gill attended the press launch of the Chinese version of SIPRI Yearbook 2007: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security at the Chinese Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA) in Beijing, China, and delivered a key-note speech on ‘2008: A call to arms control’. Contact the SIPRI Editorial and Publications Department for more information. For ordering information, click here. |
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9 May |
Afghanistan: Current Situation and Future Prospects SIPRI co-organized a roundtable with the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) to discuss the current situation and future prospects in Afganistan. Leading experts and officials, including Anders Fange, the Kabul-based country director of the Swedish Committee for Afganistan, participated in the discussion. Contact Tim Foxley for more information. | |
| SIPRI in the media | Back to top |
SIPRI Researcher Vitaly Fedchenko discussed the renewal of global interest in nuclear power technologies and its effects on the nuclear non-proliferation regime in an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta (in Russian).
SIPRI Director Bates Gill assessed China’s nuclear weapons capability in the International Herald Tribune, Economic Times of India, BBC (in Chinese), PLA Daily, and was also interviewed live for the China Central Television (CCTV) programme Focus, discussing the role of the PLA in rescue efforts following the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.
SIPRI Researcher Jean-Yves Haine shared his views on the European Union’s security strategy in the International Herald Tribune and missile defence developments in Europe with El País (in Spanish).
SIPRI Senior Guest Researcher Gunilla Herolf commented on the prospects of Sweden and Finland joining NATO to Nezavisimaya Gazeta (in Russian).
SIPRI Researcher Pieter Wezeman gave an assessment of the recent Indian tender for combat aircraft purchases and its implications for the Swedish defence industry in an interview with Aktuellt on Sveriges Television (SVT).
Figures from the SIPRI Arms Transfers Database and the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database were cited in the Boston Globe, Middle East Defense Newsletter, Clarín (in Spanish), Associated Press, Mezinarodni Politika (in Czech), Reuters, and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Report to the Security Council on Small Arms, among many others.
| SIPRI fact of the month | Back to top |
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The use of air transport in natural disaster response has increased dramatically in the last decade |
In 1997–2006, by far the most common type of military asset provided for international disaster response was aircraft, particularly cargo aeroplanes for both strategic and in-theatre airlift operations. The second most reported military asset was medical support—field hospitals, medical evacuation and transport. The number of countries that contributed medical support during the 2004–2005 Indian Ocean tsunami response was higher compared to other disasters in the same period. Eight countries—Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK and the USA—reported contributing medical support. Although medical support appears to be contributed with growing regularity, it remains a controversial issue since it involves direct contact between foreign soldiers and local civilians. These findings are taken from the SIPRI report The Effectiveness of Foreign Military Assets in Natural Disaster Response. Read more about this study below. |
| SIPRI’s latest publications | Back to top |
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The Impact on Domestic Policy of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports: The Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Spain
SIPRI Policy Paper no. 21 Mark Bromley Published by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute May 2008 Download from books.sipri.org |
In June 2008 the European Union Code of Conduct on Arms Exports will mark its 10th anniversary. This new SIPRI Policy Paper examines the impact of the EU Code over its first 10 years via a close examination of three middle-ranking arms exporters: the Czech Republic, Spain and the Netherlands. The picture that emerges is of a dynamic agreement in which smaller member states have had a strong hand in pushing developments forward.
The author gathered much of the evidence for how the Code of Conduct works in practice directly from the officials who implement it and the politicians and campaigners who monitor their decisions. His detailed study of the mechanisms of development and implementation of the Code of Conduct allows him to present recommendations for how it could be strengthened and made to function more effectively.
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Terrorism in Asymmetrical Conflict: Ideological and Structural Aspects SIPRI Research Report no. 23 Ekaterina Stepanova Published by Oxford University Press for Stockholm International Peace Research Institute March 2008 ISBN 978-0-19-953355-8 hardback £35/$70 ISBN 978-0-19-953356-5 paperback £12.99/$25.95 Buy from the OUP website (UK or USA) |
This thought-provoking book challenges the conventional discourse on—and responses to—contemporary terrorism. It examines the synergy between the extremist ideologies and the organizational models of non-state actors that use terrorist means in asymmetrical conflict. This synergy is what makes these terrorist groups so resilient in the face of the counterterrorist efforts of their main opponents—the state and the international system—who are conventionally far more powerful.
The book argues that the high mobilization potential of the supra-national extremist ideology inspired by al-Qaeda cannot be effectively counterbalanced at the global level by either mainstream secular global ideologies or moderate Islam. Instead, it is more likely to be affected and transformed by radical nationalism. Unless the political transformation of violent Islamist movements in specific national contexts is encouraged and the transnational ideology of violent Islamism is ‘nationalized’, it is unlikely to be amenable to external influence or to be destroyed by repression.
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The Effectiveness of Foreign Military Assets in Natural Disaster Response
A Report by SIPRI Commissioned and supported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs March 2008 ISBN 978-91-85114-57-3 Download from books.sipri.org |
This study examines the advantages, limitations and implications of involving foreign military assets—personnel, equipment and expertise—in the relief operations that follow major natural disasters. Foreign military assets have made large contributions to several recent natural disaster relief operations, yet their use in such operations remains controversial. The questions asked range from matters of principle—is it appropriate for foreign forces to take part in humanitarian work?—to more practical considerations such as cost, how effectively foreign military assets can participate in civilian-led humanitarian operations and how the presence of foreign military assets affects the ability of civilian humanitarian organizations to act independently and safely. This study provides an overview of the current use of foreign military assets in natural disaster response, including how and why they are deployed. It also analyses the role played by foreign military assets in several major disaster relief operations: in Mozambique following the floods in 2000, in Haiti following floods and tropical storm Jeanne in 2004, in Aceh province, Indonesia, following the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir following the South Asia earthquake of 2005.
For information on SIPRI’s other recent and forthcoming books, visit the SIPRI Publications website, books.sipri.org
Other recent publications by SIPRI authors
Bates Gill and Melissa Murphy, China–Europe Relations: What is at Stake for the United States? (CSIS, May 2008). Click here for more information
Robert Sutter and Chin-hao Huang, ‘China–Southeast Asia relations: incremental progress without fanfare’, Comparative Connections, vol. 10, no.1 (April 2008), pp. 65–74. Read this article