Zubaida A. Karim

Last week’s peace deal between the Syrian Armed Forces and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), if it holds, may have brought the Transitional Government’s ambition of stabilizing post-revolutionary Syria one step closer. Of the many tasks facing the Transitional Government, one of the most daunting is undoubtedly integrating or disarming the patchwork of militias and semi-autonomous armed groups born out of years of civil war.

Lorenzo Scarazzato, Dr Nan Tian, Dr Diego Lopes da Silva, Xiao Liang, Zubaida A. Karim and Jade Guiberteau Ricard The combined arms revenues of the world’s largest arms-producing and military services companies (the SIPRI Top 100) increased by 5.9 per cent in 2024 to reach $679 billion, the highest level ever recorded by SIPRI. The total arms revenues of the Top 100 went up by 26 per cent over the decade 2015–24.

India-Pakistan tensions have flared up into a crisis once again. On May 7, India launched missile strikes into mainland Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in response to a deadly militant attack in Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir. The days of fighting that ensued marked an even more serious escalation than the 2019 Pulwama/Balakot crisis. The crisis broke an over four-year ceasefire on the Line of Control and further exposed the persistent militarized nature of their relationship.