Giacomo Persi Paoli is a consultant for the Small Arms Survey, an independent research organization located at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (Switzerland). Previously, he was lead researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), conducting the project on Post-manufacture Marking of Small Arms and Light Weapons, and a consultant for the Conventional Arms Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in New York. He is an officer of the Italian Navy and a PhD candidate in Economic Theory and Institutions at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Pisa and an MA in International Affairs and Diplomacy from the University of Trieste. His research interests include: arms control, conflict resolution, post-conflict reconstruction and civil-military cooperation.