2014 marks 200 years of peace in Sweden. In January 1814 Sweden signed the Treaty of Kiel with Denmark, according to which Denmark was to hand over sovereignty of Norway to Sweden. While the treaty established peace with Denmark, it led to Norway declaring independence in May and a short Norwegian–Swedish war later that year—the last occasion on which Sweden went to war.
On 14 January SIPRI presented a series of lectures at the Swedish parliament on 200 years of peace in Sweden and the the lessons and implications for global peacebuilding. The three lectures were introduced by SIPRI Governing Board Chairman Göran Lennmarker (pictured above, centre), and the presenters asked a series of questions relating to the prerequisites for peace.
Dr Gary Milante (above, left), Director of SIPRI's new Macroeconomics of Security Programme, discussed the indicators of security, asking: 'What do we measure and what does it tell us?’ Milante argued that indicators such as the number of violent deaths per country, transparency and accountability in security sector expenditure, and civilian oversight of the military are essential components of measuring success in ‘moving towards zero’ on global
Dr Ian Anthony, Director of the SIPRI Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Programme, spoke about the institutions of peace, asking: 'Who is managing global peace?’ Anthony argued that an important cornerstone of global peacebuilding is the institutions to prevent and manage war, and that it will be important to agree on the principles underpinning arms control agreements.
Finally, Carina Solmirano (above, right), a Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, discussed military expenditure and accountability, asking: 'Are all the cards on the table?’ She argued that despite recent gains in making defence budgets more transparent there is still a need to strengthen parliaments and auditing offices in order to avoid overspending, waste and corruption in arms procurement.