1986 did not live up to its name as the International Year of Peace. At the end of 1986 there were 36 wars and armed conflicts being fought, the most destructive of which (the Iraq-Iran war) involves the USA and the USSR both supplying arms to the combatants and now protecting shipping in the Persian Gulf. Arms control came to an impasse, weapons proliferated and arms transfers became more uncontrolled. Continuing their annual review, compiled from open sources by an international staff working on neutral ground, this eighteenth edition of the SIPRI Yearbook bring together information on world armaments and the efforts made to limit or reduce them, an overview of the whole field of developments in armaments technology, in military expenditure, in the arms trade and in the attempts to halt or reverse the process. In addition to regular features and statistics, this latest Yearbook contains special studies on armed conflicts throughout the world, the Chernobyl accident, verification issues, and South Africa. Its comprehensive coverage makes it an invaluable source book for anyone seeking authoritative information on strategic studies, war studies, international relations or peace studies.