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Policy brief

Focused Multilateralism: How China and Germany can better engage on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation

Engaging China on multilateral arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation has become more urgent, but also more difficult. Even in times of increased competition between China, Russia, and the US, Europeans have agency and will need to up their level of ambition in pursuing their own interests in making multilateral instruments more resilient. ELN Policy & Research Director Oliver Meier and Michael Staack call for focused, substantive, and flexible dialogues between Europeans and Chinese.

18 March 2025 | Oliver Meier and Michael Staack
Multilateral Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Podcast

The Women Leaders podcast: The battle for freedom of the press

For the Trump administration, it seems that journalism is passé, or worse, a threat. In a world where the boundaries between media, politics and business continue to erode, the likes of Trump, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos have become central figures in shaping public discourse. ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by veteran BBC journalist Kate Adie to reflect on the evolution of media, the structural crises of today’s news industry, and the fundamental role of journalism in society.

21 March 2025 | Ilana Bet-El and Florence Ferrando
Russia-West relations
Report

Meeting report: Iran, Europe and the US – new approaches to nuclear diplomacy

In January 2025, the ELN with support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), convened a roundtable to discuss ways forward for a resumption of Iran-US nuclear negotiations. European, American, Asian, and Middle East experts discussed the role of Gulf actors in developing a new deal, Iran’s shift in priorities under President Pezeshkian, and the implications of the changes in the regional architecture as a result of the war in Gaza.

21 March 2025 | Roxane Farmanfarmaian
IranMultilateral Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

Networks

Our networks are at the heart of our policy impact. Reaching right across Europe they bring together established figures with emerging leaders who are all committed to better security for Europe. 

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Group statements

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Commentaries

Commentary

It’s time to use the OSCE

As European leaders prepare a peace plan for Ukraine, ELN Policy and Impact Director Jane Kinninmont and Dr Loïc Simonet argue that they should draw on the OSCE, as the organisation that helped manage risks and offer communication channels during the Cold War, and which includes Russia along with Ukraine.

11 March 2025 | Jane Kinninmont and Loïc Simonet
OSCERussia-West relations
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Policy briefs & reports

Report

Assessing the OSCE Toolbox: Opportunities for a safer Europe

For nearly 50 years, the OSCE has developed a toolbox to address security challenges across wider Europe. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dismantled Europe’s existing security architecture, rendering many OSCE tools ineffective. Former ELN Policy Fellow Katia Glod argues that in spite of this, a resurgence of political commitment could reinvigorate the OSCE’s tools, enabling them to be adapted to current challenges. This report recommends concrete actions to be undertaken by the OSCE to improve the efficacy of its toolbox.

14 March 2025 | Katia Glod
OSCERussia-West relations
Report

How to save the world: Influencing policy on the biggest risks to humanity

A new report published from the European Leadership Network’s New European Voices on Existential Risk (NEVER) project calls for a systemic international approach to be taken to address man-made existential risk. The risks from nuclear weapons, climate change, biological threats, and AI are interconnected and cross-cutting lessons should be drawn.

4 March 2025 | Jane Kinninmont, Edan Simpson, Nicolò Miotto, Arthur Duforest, Ezgi Yazicioglu, Jieqiong Duan, Rebecca Donaldson, Valeriia Hesse, Jasper Götting and Emil Nafis Iftekhar
Emerging Disruptive Technologies and Risk Reduction
Policy brief

Blessed are the peacemakers: Making a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine stick

While Trump is pushing for a rapid end to the war in Ukraine, he will find that there are huge obstacles to negotiating a comprehensive solution. Edward Ifft writes that it is important to implement a ceasefire without waiting for such negotiations to bear fruit, both to stop the massive destruction and killing and to improve the atmosphere in which to carry out these comprehensive negotiations. This paper looks at how to achieve such a ceasefire and the challenges of designing and implementing one.

3 March 2025 | Edward Ifft
Russia-West relations
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Podcasts and Media

Podcast

The Women Leaders podcast: Divide, destroy and dictate

The car crash of the Zelensky-Trump-Vance meeting in the White House on 28 February is still reverberating around the world. The bottom line appears to be, according to ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El, that the US has abandoned not only Ukraine but also the multilateral system put in place by US leadership after the Second World War. For a guided tour of this strange new world and the US’s role within it, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by the storied US journalist Trudy Rubin.

7 March 2025 | Ilana Bet-El and Florence Ferrando
Russia-West relations
Podcast

The Women Leaders podcast: The end of a world

On 12 February 2025, the post-Cold War era ended, says Ilana Bet-El, as President Trump and President Putin agreed to negotiate without Ukraine or the EU. Subsequent US actions, including cutting defence aid and demanding Ukraine relinquish resources, have left Europe reeling. ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El explores the fallout with Ukrainian civil society leaders Olena Tregub and Inna Pidluska.

21 February 2025 | Ilana Bet-El and Florence Ferrando
Russia-West relations
Podcast

The Women Leaders podcast: Tariffs and trade wars

Trade shapes the global economy, yet how international trade actually works remains a mystery to many. What are tariffs? What is a trade war? Amidst the turmoil wrought by Trump’s threats and promises to tariff China, Canada, Mexico, and more, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El joins experts Sylvia Chen and Sara Nordin to unravel trade law, tariffs, and their impact on policy and supply chains.

7 February 2025
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Most Read Content

  1. 1.

    Statement by the Euro-Atlantic Security Leadership Group (EASLG): Three essential steps for reversing the slide to nuclear war

  2. 2.

    Europe’s dark future: How might a protracted conflict between Russia and Ukraine affect Europe?

  3. 3.

    Assessing the implications of integrating AI in nuclear decision-making systems

  4. 4.

    Technological complexity and risk reduction: A Guardrails and Self-Assessment Framework for EDTs in NC3 and nuclear weapons decision-making

  5. 5.

    Bluff and bluster: Why Putin revised Russia’s nuclear doctrine