Pragmatic Approaches to Governance at the Artificial Intelligence–Nuclear Nexus
(SIPRI:
October 2025)
The independent resource on global security
Weapons of mass destruction
Museum of Science and Industry in Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945. Photo: Everett Historical
The Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Programme at SIPRI seeks to contribute to the understanding of trends and developments pertaining to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. It considers their implications for an increasingly complex security landscape and seeks to identify approaches to address the risks and challenges WMD pose. To this end, the Programme examines the political, institutional, legal and technical aspects of WMD governance, focusing on international efforts at arms control and disarmament, materials security and non-proliferation, and risk reduction.
SIPRI is one of six institutes managing the European Union Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium (EUNPDC), a group of research centres and think tanks that promotes the non-proliferation of WMD. SIPRI also chairs the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament (Uppsala University) working group on ‘Nuclear Disarmament in Policy and International Law’ and collaborates in the working group on ‘Technical Verification and Monitoring'.
RESEARCH INITIATIVES
SIPRI tracks the trends and developments in nuclear forces and doctrines, with a particular focus on monitoring global inventories of nuclear weapons.
SIPRI analyses developments and different dimensions of space security in the context of strategic armament dynamics.
SIPRI’s research focuses on how technological, industrial and political trends can contribute to missile proliferation risks and pose challenges to missile non-proliferation and arms control instruments.
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Research staff
Dr Sibylle Bauer is the Director of Studies, Armament and Disarmament, at SIPRI.
Dr Wilfred Wan is the Director of the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Dr Tytti Erästö is a Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Hans M. Kristensen is an Associate Senior Fellow in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
Shannon N. Kile is a Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Nivedita Raju is a Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Vitaly Fedchenko is a Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Dr Lora Saalman is an Associate Senior Fellow within SIPRI’s Armament and Disarmament and Conflict, Peace and Security research areas.
Dr Filippa Lentzos is an Associate Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Armament and Disarmament Programme.
Dr Tarja Cronberg is a Distinguished Associate Fellow within SIPRI’s Armament and Disarmament research area.
Dr Mirko Himmel is an Associate Senior Researcher within the SIPRI Armament and Disarmament research area.
Dr Miranda Smith is a Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Robert E. Kelley is a Distinguished Associate Fellow at SIPRI.
Matt Korda is an Associate Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Research Associate with the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
Dr Petr Topychkanov is an Associate Senior Researcher in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.
Vladislav Chernavskikh is a Research Assistant in the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme.