Africa

SIPRI’s work in Africa spans several regions and cross-cutting themes—including peacekeeping, peacebuilding and military expenditure.

SIPRI research in Africa forms a significant part of the Peace Operations and Conflict Management programme. In particular, the ‘New Geopolitics of Peace Operations’ initiatives take a broad look at how to improve international cooperation in peace operations—the future of which is likely to be in Africa.

Initiatives conducted by SIPRI in the Sahel and West Africa began with a focus on civil society and peacebuilding in Mali and have since developed to include work surveying grass root perceptions of security and justice in Chad and Niger. Since each of these three countries is actively embroiled in regional conflict dynamics while confronting its own set of internal challenges, the various projects aim to better understand local perceptions of short- and long-term efforts to promote stability and improve access to security and justice.

Another area of Africa-oriented research stems from the Institute's long-standing research on military expenditure, part of which takes a particular interest in thentransparency in military spending of states in sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to these initiatives, SIPRI engages in research that seeks to better understand global and regional security dynamics and their interplay in Africa. This includes research on the arms trade and illicit trafficking; regional conflict studies; international assistance and stabilization efforts; climate change; and migration. All of this timely work utilizes the Institute’s well-developed strengths—such as data collection, policy analysis and capacity building through established partnerships and networks.