Peace Research Institute

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. In the University of Pennsylvania Lauder Institute's 2016 Global Go To Think Tanks Report, SIPRI was ranked 28th among think tanks worldwide.

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. 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.

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.

The Director, who is appointed by the Swedish Government, has the main responsibility for SIPRI's work programme. SIPRI's publications and information material are distributed to a wide range of policy makers, researchers, journalists, organisations and the interested public. Its 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.