Please find the Peace Report 2021 here. more
Please find the Peace Report 2020 here. more
In the coronavirus crisis, bottlenecks in urgently needed protective equipment are leading to the perception that the conversion of production sites is a “quick and pragmatic” solution. In his commentary, Professor Herbert Wulf, founding director of the peace and conflict research institute BICC... more
What does the internationalization of the armed forces mean for their democratic control, and how can the privatization of the state monopoly of force be prevented? This book addresses the internationalization and privatization of war and peace to find answers to these two questions. If present... more
In this timely work, the author analyzes the use of private military firms and international interventions of the military. Outsourcing to the private sector takes missions away from the military, but the shift towards international intervention adds new, wider functions to the traditional role of... more
Decision-making on security sectors is dominated by elites, particularly military elites, because of unequal power and knowledge relations. In strengthening the institutions of accountability it is important to give high priority to strengthening the capacity of civilians to manage and monitor the... more
The present paper emphasises the breadth of the approach to security-sector reform, pointing out that there is still no generally acknowledged and accepted strategy (see chapter 2.1 and chapter 2.2 in this connection). The analysis focuses on addressing the potentials (and constraints) for external... more
The six papers published in BICC brief 16 “Practical Disarmament” look specifically at weapons in conflict situations. They were originally presented at an international BICC conference, entitled “The Contribution of Disarmament and Conversion to Conflict Prevention and its Relevance for... more
Five papers are published in BICC brief 15 “Security Sector Reform”, originally presented at an international BICC conference entitled “The Contribution of Disarmament and Conversion to Conflict Prevention and its Relevance for Development Cooperation”. more
This collection of papers summarizes the presentations made at the conference entitled "The Contribution of Disarmament and Conversion to Conflict Prevention and its Relevance for Development Cooperation", held in Bonn, Germany, on 30-31 August 1999.The conference which was organized by... more
Defense conversion has gone through various stages of political acceptance during the last twenty years, and since expectations for a `peace dividend´ have been raised after the end of the Cold War conversion has reached a new level of practical experience within the last five years.BICC report 7... more
This report summarizes the panel discussion on Conversion and Social Development, which was organized by the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC) as one of the special events at the United Nations' World Summit for Social Development, held 6-12 March 1995 in Copenhagen. Together, the... more
BICC brief 3 “Coping with Surplus Weapons: A Priority for Conversion Research and Policy.” Many weapons are decommissioned due to disarmament agreements such as the START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) and the CFE (Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe), the end of violent conflict,... more
With the reductions of global military expenditure in recent years and the end of the East–West arms race, major opportunities for conversion exists. Conversion is often looked at as a narrow problem of retooling arms factories for civilian production. In fact, the reduction in military activity... more
The rapidity of change which greeted the end of the cold war has put a strain on the successful management of down-sizing of defense budgets, armed forces and defense industry, and the practical reallocation of physical, financial and human capital. Initial attempts at conversion have faced various... more
