Across the globe, governments invest tremendous resources in their military capacities which goes hand in hand with a proliferation of arms and military technology. As arms are the principal means for the conduct of organized violence, research and advice on armament and arms control are of deep interest for BICC.

BICC contributes to a better understanding of global arms dynamics and patterns of militarization. With the Global Militarization Index, BICC monitors to what extent societies are militarized. BICC gathers information on German arms exports  and the respective recipient countries to allow for a critical evaluation of these exports.

A key focus of our work lies on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW). Currently, in its research and advisory work in particular, BICC deals with small arms control in the Sahel, Maghreb, the Horn of Africa and West Africa. This includes the counter-proliferation of SALW, the physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) of state weapons stocks, the marking and registration of arms and ammunition and the improved coordination of arms control initiatives. The interactive, global SALW Guide contains technical details on individual types of weapons, their different versions and their proliferation.