Research issues

The SIPRI export control project seeks to raise the quality of information and awareness of the current state of national and international export controls, primarily in Europe.

During the 1990s European countries revised and updated their national laws and regulations in light of growing awareness of the need to deny countries seeking nuclear, chemical and biological weapons or missile delivery systems for them access to necessary items. European countries played an important role in revitalizing existing multilateral export control arrangements and developing new ones.

The European Union developed a common legal basis for dual-use export control and strengthened cooperation in export control implementation while EU enlargement brought a larger number of countries into this developing export control system.

The Export Control Project has explored a range of research questions relating to:

• the underlying rationale and concepts;
  
• the evolving international political, technological, legal and industrial context;
  

• all parts of a national export control system (policy-making mechanism, legal and regulatory framework, licensing procedure, outreach to industry and academia, and investigation/prosecution) (see EU project on strengthening export controls of dual-use goods, Export control project - investigation and prosecution focus, and SIPRI Yearbook chapters);

• the different phases of export control enforcement (prevention, detection, interception, investigation and prosecution of suspected violations) (see Export control project - investigation and prosecution focus and publications).