Research Briefing
Sanctions don’t work? It is difficult to be sure why a country has changed its policy. Most academics used to conclude, however, that there was precious little evidence for international sanctions changing anything. In 1985, an author argued that there were few subjects where international relations analysts agreed as much as on the proposition ‘sanctions
Research Briefing
This book examines the key issues facing the House of Commons over the course of the 2015 Parliament - from the public finances to the UK’s membership of the EU and from school places for children to climate change.
Research Briefing
This briefing paper is now out-of-date and has been replaced by Commons Library Briefing 7353, Replacing the UK's Trident Nuclear Deterrent, 26 October 2015.
Research Briefing
The Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill (HL) 2013-14 completed all of its stages in the House of Commons. It will now go to the House of Lords for consideration.
Research Briefing
The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference will be held in New York from 27 April to 22 May 2015. This note looks at progress made since the 2010 Conference and outlines the UK Government's position.
Research Briefing
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (the LDP) won a decisive victory in snap elections held in December 2014. One of the reasons for holding early elections was Abe’s desire to amend Japan’s ‘peace Constitution’ so that in future it expressly permits the country’s armed forces to come to the aid of allies under attack. This is known in Japan as the right of ‘collective self-defence’. In mid- 2014 the Japanese Cabinet approved interpreting the Constitution in this way. Abe is now seeking to give this new interpretation legal and constitutional underpinning. Important as it is, amending Article 9 of the Constitution is just one part of Abe’s plans on the defence and security front. Japan is now looking to enhance its defence capabilities so that it can play a greater role in promoting international “peace, stability and prosperity”. It will also increase its ability to respond effectively to any attack on the Senkaku Islands (as Japan calls them) in the East China Sea.
Research Briefing
An analysis of the Armed Forces (Service Complaints and Financial Assistance) Bill as brought from the House of Lords. Second Reading is on 2 February 2015. The intention of the Bill is to reform the Service Complaints System and strengthen independent oversight of that system by converting the role of the current Service Complaints Commissioner into a Service Complaints Ombudsman. The Bill also includes a power to make payments to charities, benevolent organisations and others for the benefit of the armed forces community.
Research Briefing
A legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 2 April 2013. It provides, for the first time, an international legal and regulatory framework for the arms trade based on respect for international law and human rights. The UK ratified the treaty on 2 April 2014. Primary legislation was not required for ratification but secondary legislation was amended and the UK’s Consolidated Criteria, which are the basis upon which official decisions are made about whether to approve licence applications for arms exports, were updated. The treaty enters into force on 24 December 2014
Research Briefing
On 8-9 December interested parties will convene in Vienna for the Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons. This will be the third conference on this issue in two years and is the result of an increasing focus by the non-nuclear weapon states on a previously little-debated aspect of the nuclear weapons debate: the humanitarian consequences of their use. On 2 December the British government announced that it would attend the Vienna conference, in contrast to the two previous conferences on this subject.
Research Briefing
The Mutual Defence Agreement allows the US and UK to exchange nuclear materials, technology and information in order to improve their atomic weapon design, development and fabrication capabilities. The most important part of the MDA is due to expire at the end of 2014 and therefore an amendment treaty, which will extend this deadline to 2024, must be ratified by both States and brought into force by the end of this year.
Research Briefing
The 2014 NATO Wales Summit discussed Russia, Ukraine, Iraq, defence spending amongst allies and the end of combat operations in Afghanistan.
Research Briefing
The substantial gains made by Islamic State fighters in the last few months, which has seen ISIL forces advance on the northern city of Irbil and forced thousands of people from religious minorities to flee their homes, has prompted the US, UK and other Western governments to take more concerted action in Iraq.
Research Briefing
After rapid advances by the Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) towards Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdish Region, the UK government has indicated that it may send arms to the Peshmerga, the Kurdish Regional Government's security force.
Research Briefing
The 2014 NATO Summit will be in Newport, Wales, in September.
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