ELN publications feature authoritative research, high-quality analysis, diverse viewpoints and practical recommendations to address current foreign, defence, and security policy challenges.
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.
The Eleventh NPT Review Conference (RevCon) begins on 27 April 2026 in New York City. Here, members of the ELN’s ‘Protecting the NPT’ project reflect on what they hope to see at this RevCon and offer advice to diplomats entering negotiations.
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.
In the fourth in our series exploring P5 perspectives on the forthcoming 2026 NPT Review Conference, Tianjiao Jiang sets out China’s position, emphasising the need for renewed P5 dialogue, greater strategic clarity around nuclear modernisation, and practical steps to reduce nuclear risks. He highlights China’s opposition to extended deterrence and the importance of cooperative approaches to tackling regional proliferation challenges.
Veteran diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Emeritus Hans Blix warns that a volatile world of renewed great-power conflict and accelerating rearmament is eroding the foundations of arms control. While nuclear deterrence still restrains escalation, diplomatic failure, proliferation risks, and waning trust in global agreements raise urgent questions about whether meaningful disarmament, and lasting peace, remain politically achievable.
In the third in our series exploring P5 perspectives on the forthcoming 2026 NPT Review Conference, Sahil Shah looks at the UK’s approach. He argues that its most effective role is not to promise what the P5 cannot deliver, but to strengthen the conditions under which progress remains possible: practical measures grounded in existing commitments, sustained dialogue, and continued investment in the institutions and relationships that keep restraint possible.