ELN publications feature authoritative research, high-quality analysis, diverse viewpoints and practical recommendations to address current foreign, defence, and security policy challenges.
At a time of heightened nuclear risk, the credibility of the non-proliferation regime increasingly depends not on treating the NPT and TPNW as rival models, but on finding ways for them to function in a mutually reinforcing way. As Simabatu Mayele Sims Nono writes, reshaping the NPT-TPNW relationship can turn it from a source of fragmentation into a lever for stabilisation.
Amid mounting geopolitical tensions and deepening scepticism about multilateral diplomacy, diplomats, experts, and civil society representatives are gathering in New York for the 2026 NPT Review Conference to confront growing divisions over disarmament and non-proliferation. In these reflections, ELN staff who attended the RevCon examine the mounting risks facing the global nuclear order, and consider what they reveal about the future of the NPT regime.
On the anniversary of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, former European Commission Vice-President Catherine Ashton reflects on the diplomacy behind the landmark JCPOA agreement, why it worked, and what its collapse means today. Ashton argues that collective leadership and renewed European engagement remain essential to securing long-term regional stability.
This commentary collection compiles 11 articles by ELN network members and external collaborators as part of the ELN’s Protecting the Non-Proliferation Treaty project. The collection was published to align with the 2026 NPT Review Conference in New York City.
This commentary collection compiles 10 articles by ELN network members and external collaborators as part of the ELN’s Protecting the Non-Proliferation Treaty project. The collection was originally published for the 2026 NPT RevCon.
As the US behaves with increasing unpredictability, it is becoming necessary for its allies to develop more independent foreign policy paths. Taking a leadership role on the TPNW could be part of that shift, writes Davis Ellison. This does not mean allies should immediately join the treaty, but rather that the assumption of incompatibility has unnecessarily constrained debate.
In the fifth in our series exploring P5 perspectives on the forthcoming 2026 NPT Review Conference, former Soviet and Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs official Nikolai Sokov sets out Russia’s position, highlighting its response to US and Israeli military actions, emphasis on sovereign equality and peaceful nuclear rights, and increasingly assertive framing of proliferation risks, alongside growing alignment with China and outreach to the Global South.
Continuing our commentary series exploring European perspectives ahead of the 2026 NPT Review Conference, Łukasz Kulesa sets out Poland’s approach, balancing firm support for the Treaty with heightened security concerns, reaffirming non-proliferation commitments while prioritizing deterrence credibility, NATO cohesion, and pragmatic outcomes in a deeply polarised and uncertain global environment.
AI-enabled warfare is giving the United States unprecedented tactical reach while eroding strategic restraint, writes Erasmus University Rotterdam Professor Michal Onderco. From the Caracas raid to strikes in Iran, reduced risks enable operations with minimal casualties. That ease lowers the bar for war, leaving allies exposed to miscalculation and dependence on a partner willing to act without planning the aftermath.