SIPRI

On 17 June Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understandingthat is intended to pave the way for ending the war between them that started on 28 February this year with a wave of US and Israeli strikes on targets across Iran. Although the agreement now looks very fragile, the wording of one critical paragraph of the so-called Islamabad Memorandum suggests the USA might allow Iran to restrict freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz permanently as part of a final peace treaty.

In light of the forthcoming transitions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in South Sudan, this study looks at Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone as two historical examples of United Nations peace operations being involved in security sector reform (SSR).

At a time when the impacts of conflict, forced displacement and humanitarian needs are increasingly global, foreign aid to fragile and conflict-affected contexts is declining. The current shift towards narrower national security priorities and sudden aid cuts can disrupt health systems in fragile states, with cascading human, humanitarian and security risks and costs that have broader international security implications.

Dr Thor Olav Iversen, Katongo Seyuba, Dr Andrew E. Yaw Tchie, Ingvild Brox Brodtkorb and Jules Duhamel This Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheet is focused on the Lake Chad region and the series of conflict- and climate-related issues that face the region. The fact sheet offers a range of recommended actions for the international community to address these issues effectively.

Strengthening the military capabilities of European Union (EU) partner states, including by providing weapons, has become an important element of the EU’s approach to peace and security over the past five years. This shift from an approach centred  mainly around crisis management means the EU is entering  a space occupied by several other actors, including some EU  member states, allied states—notably the United States—and what the EU refers to as its ‘strategic competitors’.

Strengthening the military capabilities of European Union (EU) partner states, including by providing weapons, has become an important element of the EU’s approach to peace and security over the past five years. This shift from an approach centred  mainly around crisis management means the EU is entering  a space occupied by several other actors, including some EU  member states, allied states—notably the United States—and what the EU refers to as its ‘strategic competitors’.

Strengthening the military capabilities of European Union (EU) partner states, including by providing weapons, has become an important element of the EU’s approach to peace and security over the past five years. This shift from an approach centred  mainly around crisis management means the EU is entering  a space occupied by several other actors, including some EU  member states, allied states—notably the United States—and what the EU refers to as its ‘strategic competitors’.

Leading experts, researchers and educators on nuclear disarmament. On 8 June, SIPRI hosted the third iteration of a workshop on nuclear disarmament education ahead of the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament (AMC) annual conference. The workshop brought together leading educators, experts and researchers to reflect on how issues related to nuclear policy, including nuclear disarmament, are taught in different countries.

Infrastructure for peace (I4P) is an institutionalized approach to peacebuilding and an interconnected framework that links actors, regulations and mechanisms across local and national levels to support conflict prevention and sustainable peace.

On 4–5 June, the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme hosted a workshop on ‘Strategic Shifts and the Space–Nuclear Nexus’. The workshop analysed key developments and strategic shifts to assess how uncertainties may shape escalation pathways at the space–nuclear nexus and related implications for European security. Participants included experts and officials from nuclear and space policy communities.