Stimson’s Conventional Defense Program seeks to reduce risk and minimize harm associated with the global arms trade. Reducing illicit arms trafficking and irresponsible weapons trade increases stability and security, upholds the values of human rights, protects civilians, and promotes multilateral cooperation. Stimson focuses on the U.S. and international arms trade, the export and use of armed drones, the provision of military assistance to governments using and supporting the use of child soldiers, and the development of international norms and standards to regulate the trade in and use of conventional weapons.
Developing metrics to evaluate the status of reporting under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
August 22, 2025
Understanding challenges and developing solutions to support Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) reporting obligations
August 22, 2025
Research travel in Liberia highlights the ongoing legacy of UN peacekeeping
June 26, 2025
How President Trump’s decision to defy the norms of Congressional consultation undermines one of the last meaningful mechanisms of arms transfer oversight
June 4, 2025
The $142 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia may have captured headlines, but lessons from Trump’s 2017 defense agreement with Riyadh suggest expectations should be much more modest
May 19, 2025
How Moldova and the United States can build a stronger partnership for a shared future
April 10, 2025
Biden’s 2024 decision to send antipersonnel landmines set the stage for recent European withdrawal from the global convention
March 24, 2025
How the absence of a Conventional Arms Transfer policy could disrupt the U.S. security cooperation and assistance enterprise
March 20, 2025
