SIPRI Insights on Peace and Security

Climate change and the associated climate-related security risks increase instability and have significant adverse effects on peace­building. Within the United Nations, there is a lack of consensus on which organs are most appropriate to respond to climate-related security risks. The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) has demonstrated a growing role as a forum for member state discussions on this issue.

Official development assistance (ODA) plays an important and complementary role in promoting development in low- and middle-income states. Previous research in the literature has shown that ODA can have unintended con­sequences by enabling recipient states to shift ‘freed-up’ resources away from activities now funded by ODA to other spending categories. This literature has argued that the ‘freed-up’ resources could be funding military spending.

This SIPRI Insights paper explores how the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) national action plans (NAPs) of 80 states frame and respond to climate change and security.

This report focuses on the risks that a lack of nuclear restraint pose for international security. After identifying some of the most problematic aspects of the current nuclear policies of the five nuclear weapon states (NWS), the report makes the case for greater restraint, including recommendations for reducing doctrinal ambiguity and more credible assurances that the threshold for nuclear weapon use remains high.

Since 2015 Mali’s central regions of Mopti and Ségou have become insecure hotspots at the confluence of interconnected challenges in terms of governance, development and security. Although international interventions involving a full range of actors and sectors are being increasingly reoriented towards these regions, the sustainability of the responses depends on their ability to draw on the needs and priorities of local communities.

This SIPRI Insights Paper assesses EU security perspectives on connectivity, alongside and in relation to its evolving relationship with China. The EU’s relations with China have undergone an important shift in recent years, with a strengthened emphasis by the EU on the challenges to bilateral cooperation. In addition, since 2014, EU and EU member states’ security perspectives have undergone a wider reassessment, one that has increased the prominence of the military dimensions of connectivity, including military mobility, in EU security planning.

This paper contributes to the burgeoning research on the integration of climate-related security risks by organizations, with a case study on how the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) is framing and developing its responses.

Quantitative research on the finances of the Chinese arms industry has been limited by the scarcity of available data. This paper uses a scoping study to estimate the financial value of the arms sales of companies in the Chinese arms industry. The estimates suggest that China is the second-largest arms producer in the world.

Mali has experienced protracted insecurity since 2012. Despite a heightened security presence and a peace agreement signed in 2015, root causes underpinning insecurity hinder effective and inclusive conflict resolution. Recognizing gender inclusivity as critical to lasting peace, the Malian Government adopted a National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2013 to operationalize the global Women, Peace and Security agenda and augment participation of women in national decision making.