ELN publications feature authoritative research, high-quality analysis, diverse viewpoints and practical recommendations to address current foreign, defence, and security policy challenges.
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.
On the eve of the 2025 Munich Security Conference, the Euro-Atlantic Security Leadership Group (EASLG) issued a statement on steps to reverse the slide to nuclear war signed by sixty-four former officials, military leaders, and experts. Steve Andreasen and Chair of the ELN Lord Des Browne explain why the statement matters.
Former and serving senior officials, military leaders, and experts from across the Euro-Atlantic region put forward three urgent steps for nuclear-armed states to take to build on the essential principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.
This policy brief analyses the integration of AI into nuclear command, control and communications systems (NC3), exploring potential benefits and significant risks. Former ELN policy fellow and Non-Resident Expert on AI at CNS Alice Saltini highlights the need for a better assessment of risks and the establishment of thresholds for integration to prevent miscalculations and nuclear escalation. It proposes that the EU leads international dialogue on AI risks in the nuclear domain in relevant international discussions.
Using nuclear deterrence to prevent cyber attacks presents not only ethical and strategic challenges but also significant legal concerns. International law imposes strict limits on the use of force, making a nuclear response to cyber attacks highly questionable. Attribution remains difficult, escalation risks are high, and proportionality concerns persist. YGLN member Verena Jackson writes that a more effective approach would focus on strengthening international norms, improving attribution mechanisms, and—above all—prioritising cyber resilience over expanding nuclear deterrence.
Despite not yet entering into force, the CTBT has seen some remarkable successes in establishing a global norm against nuclear testing and a robust verification system. However, rising geopolitical tensions underscore the urgent need for full ratification. Eleonora Neri of the Younger Generation Leaders Network (YGLN) argues for states to redouble efforts to universalise the Treaty and reinforce global non-proliferation commitments.
Three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and as New START enters its penultimate year in force, Nicholas Lokker writes that Russia is seeking to extricate itself from previously established arms control agreements it perceives as elements of the broader Western-dominated political and security order that it aims to overturn. He also argues that whilst Russia is unwilling to return to the negotiating table now, economics and external pressure from allies could herald a resumption of talks in future.
Steps to protect the Article 6 acquis on nuclear disarmament are a necessary condition for success of the 2026 NPT RevCon, but there is uncertainty under what political circumstances states parties will convene in 2026. As the nuclear disarmament acquis is currently threatened from many directions, this policy brief considers what steps states parties may take to protect the NPT under different scenarios.
This week, the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo, founded by atomic bomb survivors (Hibakusha), will receive the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize demonstrating an increased international interest in past and ongoing harm caused by nuclear weapons. While the NPT largely remains silent on the humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons and the associated legacies of the nuclear past, Jana Baldus and Caroline Fehl write that NPT members can do more to further the cause of nuclear justice, and that doing so is in their own best interest.