Ten Years of the Partial Test Ban Treaty 1963–1973
The date on which this report is released marks the tenth anniversary of the Partial Test Ban Treaty. It also marks the tenth anniversary of failure to bring about the discontinuance of all test explosions of nuclear weapons for all time. The pledge to seek to achieve this end, made by the three original parties to the Partial Test Ban Treaty, has remained a dead letter; the United Nations resolutions condemning nuclear-weapon tests, without exception, have been ignored.
The Meaning and Measurement of Military Expenditure
Military expenditure figures, presented in different ways, have a variety of uses, including the measurement of the economic burden of these expenditures and the assessment of the trend in a nation's military strength. Moreover, the international comparison of military expenditures influences opinion about how much should be spent in the future. And, in military alliances, the relative economic burden of these expenditures between member nations is a frequently discussed, and often contentious, issue.
Strategic Arms Limitation Part I
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the USA and the USSR have been a matter of continuous and active interest to SIPRI. The SIPRI Yearbook 1972 discussed the subject at length, but at the time the SALT agreements were signed in Moscow, the Yearbook was already in print. The opinions expressed in the Yearbook remain valid, but it seems useful to supplement them with a detailed analysis of the recent agreements, and to examine the future of the strategic arms race and possible measures to control it.
The Origins of MIRV
Europe and Iran: Perspectives on Non-proliferation
The recent controversy over Iran's nuclear programme represents an early and important test for a distinctively European approach to addressing concerns about suspected programmes for the development of weapons of mass destruction. Against this background, this report brings together European and Iranian perspectives on a range of security- and proliferation-related issues that have a bearing on diplomatic efforts to resolve the controversy.
Stability and Arms Control in Europe: The Role of Military Forces within a European Security System
East-West relations are going through a period of profound change. Although it is far too soon to talk about the ultimate result of this process, it is clear that negotiations about arms reductions are already playing a crucial role and are likely to continue to do so. However, hopes may run higher than the complexity of the issues might justify. No doubt the tremendous pace at which the process has unfolded has contributed considerably to this situation.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty: Political and Technological Prospects and Dangers in 1990
This research report builds on contributions from authors of chapters in the SIPRI Yearbook 1990: World Armaments and Disarmament. For practitioners and researchers alike, it is meant to serve the overriding purpose of contributing to the preservation of the nuclear non-proliferation regime by offering an understanding of the shortcomings of the current NPT regime and ideas on how to rectify the situation.
West European Arms Production: Structural Changes in the New Political Environment
The arms industry in most parts of the world is faced with a challenge: the reduction of production capacities. Difficulties in utilizing arms production capacities have occurred in the past, but they were of short-term nature and were solved by increasing domestic procurement or additional exports. In the present situation neither increasing domestic military expenditure nor arms exports is a viable strategy. During the cold war, arms procurement was linked to a European security environment that has changed beyond recognition in the past two years.
Verification of the CFE Treaty
Signed in November 1990, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) represents a watershed in the history of arms control. This is due in no small measure to the carefully designed verification structure upon which the Treaty is founded. This thorough and detailed verification regime should provide for a relatively trouble-free ratification process and hopefully the smooth conduct of the various stages of Treaty implementation as well.
Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control in South Asia after the Test Ban
As the nuclear weapon states continue to reduce their nuclear arsenals and international efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons are reinvigorated, South Asia remains a unique region almost entirely unencumbered by nuclear arms control. Despite the recent popularity of the notion that nuclear deterrence is stabilizing the Indo-Pakistani conflict, there is good reason to believe that the risks of war and of the use of nuclear weapons are not fully appreciated.