Death by a Thousand Red Lines: The Colossal Failure of the 10th NPT Review Conference

Cesar Jaramillo Featured, Nuclear Weapons, Reports

The profound rifts that divided NPT states parties from the beginning and prevented even modest progress ran much deeper than the predictably contentious Ukrainian conflict. Well before the Russian delegation took the floor during the last session to indicate that it would not endorse the text of the final document, it was abundantly clear that the conference would not meet even modest expectations. Its main accomplishment: the further weakening of the NPT’s credibility as a framework for nuclear abolition.

What kinetic ASAT testing tells us about space security governance

Jessica West Featured, Reports, Space Security

The testing of kinetic anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons and the debris that they produce are currently garnering global attention and concern. This is partly because of the November 2021 ASAT test conducted by Russia; partly because of our expanding use and dependence on outer space; and partly because of the accelerating development, testing, and demonstration of kinetic ASAT capabilities.

Comparing National Positions on Military Exports to Saudi Arabia

Kelsey Gallagher Conventional Weapons, Featured, Reports

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest importer of weapons and the global north—in particular, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France—its main supplier. And this trade is growing. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Saudi arms imports for the period 2016-2020 were 61% greater than imports for the prior five-year period.  

Norms, space security, and arms control

Jessica West Featured, Reports, Space Security

Threats to the security of outer space are growing. More pronouncements that space is a warfighting domain are augmented by periodic accusations of, and demonstrations of, weapons tests. The latest research on global counterspace capabilities reveals an expanding and accelerating proliferation of capabilities that can target and harm objects in space.

The risks of hypersonic weapons

Mark McWhinney Conventional Weapons, Featured, Reports

More states are investing in hypersonic weapons capabilities. These weapons have the potential to travel faster and farther than current intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), with the added benefit of increased manoeuverability. While not all hype around hypersonic missiles is justified, the pursuit of such capabilities is changing the defence landscape and raising concerns about the future of nonproliferation and arms-control regimes.