| Formation | 6 May 1966 |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public |
| Headquarters | Solna, Sweden |
| Website | www |
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Sweden, dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public. SIPRI is based in Stockholm.
SIPRI was ranked among the top three non-US world-wide think tanks in 2014 by the University of Pennsylvania Lauder Institute's Global Go To Think Tanks Report. In 2016 it ranked SIPRI in the top twenty eight among think tanks globally.
History
In 1964, Prime Minister of Sweden Tage Erlander put forward the idea of establishing a peace research institute to commemorate Sweden's 150 years of unbroken peace.
A Swedish Royal Commission chaired by Ambassador Alva Myrdal
proposed in its 1966 report to establish an institute, later named the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI. The Institute's
research should seek to contribute to "the understanding of the
preconditions for a stable peace and for peaceful solutions of
international conflicts" and the Commission recommended that research be
concentrated on armaments, their limitation and reduction, and arms control.
The Commission also recommended that SIPRI work be of "an applied
research character directed towards practical-political questions
[which] should be carried on in a constant interchange with research of a
more theoretical kind".
SIPRI has built its reputation and standing on competence,
professional skills, and the collection of hard data and precise facts,
rendering accessible impartial information on weapon developments, arms
transfers and production, military expenditure, as well as on arms
limitations, reductions and disarmament. The task of the Institute is to
conduct "scientific research on questions of conflict and cooperation
of importance for international peace and security with the aim of
contributing to an understanding of the conditions for peaceful solution
of international conflicts and for a stable peace".
The Swedish Riksdag
decided that the Institute be established on 1 July 1966 with the legal
status of an independent foundation. All SIPRI research is based
exclusively on open sources.
Organisation
SIPRI's
organisation consists of a Governing Board, Director, Deputy Director,
Research Staff Collegium and support staff. An Advisory Committee serves
as a consultative body to the Institute. The Governing Board takes
decisions on important matters concerning the research agenda,
activities, organisation and financial administration of the Institute.
Other matters are decided by the Director. The Research Staff Collegium
advises the Director on research matters. The staff of about 50 persons
is international. The researchers are recruited for a specific project
period and represent various academic disciplines. Located in Sweden,
the Institute offers a unique platform for researchers from different
countries to work in close cooperation. The Institute also hosts guest
researchers who work on issues related to the SIPRI research programme.
Although SIPRI is not a teaching institute, it receives interns whose
programmes of study can contribute to and benefit from SIPRI's research.
Contacts are maintained with other research centres and individual
researchers throughout the world. SIPRI cooperates closely with several
intergovernmental organisations, notably the United Nations and the European Union,
and regularly receives parliamentary, scientific and government
delegations as well as visiting researchers. Frequent contacts are
maintained with diplomatic missions in Stockholm and with Swedish research centres.
Governing Board
Current members of the Governing Board:
- Ambassador Jan Eliasson (Sweden), retired Swedish diplomat and former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, as of 1 June 2017, Chair of the SIPRI Governing Board
- Dewi Fortuna Anwar (Indonesia), Research Professor, Indonesian Institute of Sciences
- Vladimir Baranovsky (Russia), Deputy Director, IMEMO (Institute of World Economy and International Relations)
- Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi (France), Former United Nations Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
- Dan Smith (United Kingdom), Director, SIPRI
- Wolfgang Ischinger (Germany), Chairman, Munich Security Conference and Global Head of Government Relations, Allianz SE
- Espen Barth Eide (Norway), Member of the Norwegian Parliament and former United Nations Special Adviser on Cyprus
- Radha Kumar (India), Chair, United Nations University Council
- Jessica Tuchman Mathews (United States), Former President of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and current Distinguished Fellow
Former Governing Board Chairpersons:
- Alva Myrdal (1966–67)
- Gunnar Myrdal (1967–73)
- Rolf Edberg (1974–78)
- Hans Blix (1978)
- Karin Söder (1978–79)
- Rolf Björnerstedt (1979–85)
- Ernst Michanek (1985–87)
- Inga Thorsson (1987–91)
- Daniel Tarschys (1992–2000)
- Rolf Ekeus (2000–10)
- Göran Lennmarker (2010–14)
- Sven-Olof Petersson (2014-2017)
Director
The
Director, who is appointed by the Swedish Government, has the main
responsibility for SIPRI's work programme. Dr Bates Gill served as SIPRI
Director from 2007–2012. In September 2012, the Swedish Government appointed the German economist Tilman Brück as his successor. Brück held the position of SIPRI Director from January 2013 to June 2014. In June 2014 the SIPRI Governing Board appointed Dr Ian Anthony as Director for an interim period. The current Director, Dan Smith, was appointed in September 2015.
Former SIPRI Directors:
- Robert Neild (United Kingdom, 1967–71)
- Frank Barnaby (United Kingdom, 1971–81)
- Frank Blackaby (United Kingdom, 1981–86)
- Walther Stützle (Germany, 1986–91)
- Adam Daniel Rotfeld (Poland, 1991–2002)
- Alyson Bailes (United Kingdom, 2002–07)
- Bates Gill (United States, 2007–12)
- Tilman Brück (Germany, 2013–14)
- Ian Anthony (United Kingdom, interim 2014–15)
Deputy Director
The
Deputy Director is appointed by the Governing Board from Swedish
candidates. SIPRI's current Deputy Director is Sigrún Rawet.
Former SIPRI Deputy Directors:
- Örjan Berner (1966–67)
- Dr Rolf Björnerstedt (1967–68)
- Jan Mårtensson (1968–69)
- Sven Hirdman (1969–72)
- Bo Heinebäck (1972–75)
- Carl-Magnus Hyltenius (1975–78)
- Arne Kjellstrand (1978–80)
- Sven-Göran Henricsson (1982–84)
- Gustaf Stjernberg (1984–87)
- Madeleine Ströje-Wilkens (1988–90)
- Ove Svensson (1992–93)
- Jan Svedman (1995–98)
- Birgitta Alani (1998–2002)
- Dr Christer Ahlström (2002–05)
- Daniel Nord (2005–12)
- Jakob Hallgren (2012-18).
Research
Research
is conducted at SIPRI by an international staff of about 50 researchers
and research assistants. The Institute's current research programme
centres on the following major themes:
- Armament and Disarmament
- Conflict and Peace
- Peace and Development
With the following research areas:
- Arms and Military Expenditure
- Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation
- Dual-use and Arms Trade Control
- Technology and Security
- European Security
- China and Global Security
- Russia and Euro-Eurasian security
- Mali
- Peace Operations and Conflict Management
- Private Sector and Peace
- Climate and Security
- Prosperity and Peace
- Gender, Marginalization and Insecurity
Within these fields of study, workshops, conferences, seminars and
lectures are organised in order to bring together a broad spectrum of
expertise and to exchange views on subjects studied at the Institute.
Among these the biggest are the Stockholm Forum on Peace and Security
and the Stockholm Security Conference.
SIPRI research projects maintain large databases on military
expenditure, arms-producing industries, arms transfers, chemical and
biological warfare, national and international export controls, arms
control agreements, annual chronologies of major arms control events,
military manoeuvres and nuclear explosions.
Publications and information
SIPRI's
publications and information material are distributed to a wide range
of policy makers, researchers, journalists, organisations and the
interested public. The results of the research are disseminated through
the publication of books and reports by SIPRI and commissioned authors
as well as through symposia and seminars. The Institute has forged its
profile by concentrating on present-day realities, providing unbiased
facts to states and individuals. SIPRI's main publication, the SIPRI
Yearbook, was first published on 12 November 1969. The Yearbook serves
as a single authoritative and independent source to which politicians,
diplomats and journalists can turn for an account of what has happened
during the past year in armaments and arms control, armed conflicts and
conflict resolution, security arrangements and disarmament. It is
translated into a number of other languages, notably Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese and Arabic.
SIPRI series:
- SIPRI Yearbook: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security
- SIPRI Monographs
- SIPRI Research Reports
- SIPRI Chemical & Biological warfare Studies
- SIPRI Policy Papers
- SIPRI Insights on Peace and Security
- SIPRI Fact Sheets and Policy Briefs
- Multi-author volumes
- Pocket-size summaries of the Yearbook in English and a number of other languages
- SIPRI Arms Transfers Database, Iraq 1973-1990
Finances
SIPRI's financial support is primarily drawn from governments and independent philanthropic
organisations around the world. SIPRI also receives annual support from
the Swedish government in the form of a core grant approved by the
Swedish parliament.
