STOCKHOLM, 01 Oct. - (ANA) - SIPRI has published Yearbook 2025.

 

 

 

 

Global security continued to deterioratethroughout 2024. Markers of this persistentdeterioration included major armedconflicts in Ethiopia, Gaza, Myanmar,Sudan and Ukraine. Military spending,meanwhile, rose for the 10th successiveyear and exceeded $2.7 trillion in 2024.

 

Ecological disruption also continued, with2024 being the first year on record in whichthe average global temperature was clearlymore than 1.5°C above the pre-industrialaverage. New uncertainties arose in thefirst quarter of 2025 following the electionof Donald J. Trump as president of theUnited States, which prompted a significantdeparture from previous US policy andassumptions about global security andrelations with allies.

 

 

 

 

The era of nuclear weapons reductions appears to have ended. Bilateral nuclear arms control between Russia and the USA entered crisis some years ago and is now almost over. Revitalized national debates in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia about nuclear status and strategy suggest there is some potential for more states to join the nuclear club. The signs are that a new qualitative nuclear arms race is gearing up and, compared with the last one, therisks are likely to be more diverse and moreserious. Among the key points of competition will be technological capacities in cyberspace, outer space and ocean space.

 

Thus, the idea of who is ahead in the race will be even more elusive and intangible, arms control will no longer suffice.

 

 

 

 

With President Trump’s return to the White House, there is a repeat of the paradoxical situation experienced during his first administration, in which none of the three great powers is committed to defending and upholding the world order. China, as a rising power, Russia, as a declining power, and the USA, as a profoundly disaffected power under Trump, all seek freedom from the constraints of agreed rules whenever they are inconvenient. One way forward is for medium and small powers towork together in coalitions with likeminded governments on specific goals.

 

Cooperation is of value even when it is not comprehensive. It is a pragmatic, viableapproach: the new realism.

 

A return to an era of reductions to the global nuclear arsenal, however, requiresagreement among the three great powers.

 

A new, general understanding is needed that nuclear weapons do not buy security and that their existence demands balanced behaviour by political leaders. Initial small steps towards reducing risk could form guardrails against disaster. Together with the voices of an informed public, they could also be part of building pressure on the three great powers to take the next steps in reducing their nuclear arsenals.   - (ANA) -

 

 

For the full report, visit: https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2025-08/yb25_summary_en_v2.pdf

 

 

AB/ANA/01 October 2025  - - -