ELN publications feature authoritative research, high-quality analysis, diverse viewpoints and practical recommendations to address current foreign, defence, and security policy challenges.
Members of the ELN reflect on what European responses to President Trump’s remarks on Greenland tell us about NATO cohesion and Europe’s capacity to act on its own security.
As State Parties prepare for the 2026 Review Conference, Bailey Schiff and Diya Ashtakala write that engaging with emerging technologies, which are already transforming military programmes, as well as verification and civilian nuclear programmes, offers a way to break entrenched debates. Revisiting longstanding challenges regarding non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear technology through the framework of emerging technologies may be one of the few practical paths to relieve pressure on the NPT by opening space for innovation and debate across the three pillars.
2026 started with President Trump’s astonishing show of force in Venezuela, culminating in the seizure of President Maduro to face drug charges in the US. Whilst Venezuela’s future may be unclear, one thing that is now more than apparent is President Trump’s willingness to use might and ignore norms and laws to advance what he views as America’s foreign policy interests. To understand this better, Rachel Ellehuus, Director General of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), joins ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El.
On Saturday, 10 January, Finland’s withdrawal from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention or ‘Ottawa Treaty’, will come into effect. This follows the earlier withdrawals of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. Gary Toombs writes that while landmines may seem appealing as cheap, simple tools of defence, in reality, they are militarily outdated, strategically counterproductive, and devastating in humanitarian, economic, and environmental terms. States on the path to leaving the treaty should reconsider, as withdrawal would not strengthen their security but would undermine international law, erode alliances, and cause generational harm.
At the start of the new year, members of the European Leadership Network’s senior and younger-generation leaders’ networks offer their perspectives on their defining issue or policy trend to watch in 2026.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has made drone warfare a defining feature of modern conflict. Yet NATO and EU states continue to rely on interceptor systems that cost orders of magnitude more than the drones they are meant to destroy. Drawing on lessons from Ukraine’s battlefield experience, Gabriella Calder argues that European allies must urgently scale up affordable, interoperable counter-drone technologies, or risk exhausting their arsenals before deterrence can take hold.
There is a common tendency to view and discuss Africa in terms of the problems affecting the continent. More recently, the West has also started to look anxiously on as China and Russia build influence with African leaders. However, Africa is a continent as vast as it is diverse, with the economic potential to match. To understand both the issues affecting Africa and its future potential, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by Amaka Anku, Head of Africa Practice at the Eurasia Group.
Gender perspectives are integral to credible, effective, and inclusive disarmament and arms control. This policy brief by ELN Policy Fellow Jana Baldus examines the gender backlash in multilateral disarmament and arms control, and its implications. It suggests two approaches to preserve progress on gender equality and intersectional gender perspectives and calls on states, international organisations, and civil society to act collectively to defend and further advance gender perspectives.
Conflict is rising, institutions are strained, and fragmented interventions yield fragile gains. Robert J. Berg and Chair of the ELN, Lord Des Browne, propose a nationally led, evidence-based peacebuilding paradigm that scales beyond pilots and designs interventions to achieve lasting impact. Core elements include citizen-driven diagnostics, alignment with key public policies, police and military reform where necessary, investment in education and media, and the responsible use of technology. To catalyse this shift, they propose an International Fund for Peace.