The independent resource on global security
Backgrounders
Iraq in 2023: Challenges and prospects for peace and human security
Shivan Fazil and Dr Alaa TartirA snapshot of the situation and remaining challenges for Iraq, two decades after the invasion.
Iraq since the invasion: 20 years in SIPRI data
Lauriane Héau, Dr Diego Lopes da Silva, Lorenzo Scarazzato, Timo Smit and Pieter D. WezemanTo commemorate the upcoming 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq on 20 March, SIPRI has prepared this Topical Backgrounder along with an Interactive chronology of security developments in Iraq spanning from 2002 to 2021. These materials are components of a larger collection of new materials that SIPRI is creating to commemorate the anniversary.
The proposed hike in Japan’s military expenditure
Xiao Liang and Dr Nan TianOn 23 December 2022, the Japanese cabinet unveiled its 2023 budget for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), totalling 6.8 trillion yen ($52 billion). The new budget is 26 per cent higher than the JSDF budget for 2022, the largest year-on-year nominal increase in planned military spending since at least 1952.
Environmental accountability, justice and reconstruction in the Russian war on Ukraine
Dr Jiayi Zhou and Dr Ian AnthonyThis Topical Backgrounder looks at the steps being taken in and beyond Ukraine to measure war-linked environmental damage, hold Russia to account and support green reconstruction, and puts them in an international context.
Afghanistan and its neighbourhood: A stocktaking of regional cooperation since the Taliban takeover
Dr Jiayi ZhouThis topical backgrounder presents several indications that a more regionally grounded, cohesive perspective and approach for Afghanistan is emerging—small seeds from which a sustainable response to Afghanistan’s peace, security and development challenges might grow.
Arms transfer and SALW control-related assistance in the Middle East and North Africa: Identifying needs and bridging gaps
Giovanna Maletta and Lauriane HéauUsing information from SIPRI’s database of ATT-relevant cooperation and assistance activities, this Topical Backgrounder provides an updated picture of assistance activities involving countries in the MENA.
Climate-related security risks in the SADC region
Katongo Seyuba and Tània Ferré GarciaThis SIPRI Topical Backgrounder provides an overview of the climate-related security risks in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, the current discourses on these risks within SADC, and SADC’s institutional architecture and policy responses to climate change.
Arms transfer and SALW controls in the Middle East and North Africa: Challenges and state of play
Lauriane Héau and Giovanna MalettaThis topical backgrounder provides an overview of the state of conventional arms transfer controls and small arms and light weapons (SALW) controls in MENA countries.
Transnational organized crime: A threat to global public goods
Dr Marina CapariniTransnational organized crime poses an array of profound challenges to sustainable development, as well as global public goods such as peace and security. It deserves a prominent place in efforts to reinvigorate multilateral cooperation.
Improving transparency in military spending through disaggregated information
Alexandra Marksteiner, Dr Nan Tian and Alexander KaplanThis backgrounder—in a first step towards addressing this gap—explores the practice of disaggregation in military budget reporting as one aspect of transparency in military expenditure.