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ELN publications feature authoritative research, high-quality analysis, diverse viewpoints and practical recommendations to address current foreign, defence, and security policy challenges.

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570 items
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Commentary

Summit survival guide: How NATO’s June 2025 Summit can preserve the Alliance’s core values and interests

NATO’s upcoming Summit in The Hague comes at a key point in the Alliance’s history; Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine, American impatience with European underspending on defence, and European fears of American withdrawal from collective defence all represent major threats. Former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Operations, Stephen Evans, and ELN Senior Associate Fellow former UK Ambassador to NATO, Sir Adam Thomson, argue that NATO’s history demonstrates it is capable of combining strength and flexibility in times of crisis. They argue for a ‘back to basics’ approach to ease internal tensions, strengthen partnerships and move towards a state of ‘managed co-existence’ with Russia.

19 May 2025 | Stephen Evans and Adam Thomson
Russia-WestRussia-West relationsBelarusDefenceDeterrenceDiplomacyEastern EuropeEuropeForeign policyNATONuclear SecurityNuclear WeaponsRisk ReductionRussiaRussia-West RelationsSecurityUkraineUnited States
Podcast

The Woman Leaders podcast: Living in historic times

The turmoil and changes of the past five years — from the coronavirus pandemic to the second Trump administration — make clear one basic fact: the post-Cold War era is over. To explore the meaning of this term, as well as the reality of living through it, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El is joined by Professor Marci Shore.

2 May 2025 | Ilana Bet-El and Florence Ferrando
Russia-West relationsDemocracyDiplomacyEastern EuropeEUEuropeForeign policyInternational LawNATOPodcastsRussiaRussia-West RelationsTransatlantic relationsUkraineUnited NationsUnited States
Policy brief

From crisis to strategy: The OSCE and arms control in a divided Europe

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the OSCE has faced a deep crisis. Russia and Belarus have violated key norms of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, undermining the OSCE’s role in crisis management. Alexander Graef argues that breaking the impasse requires decisive political leadership and multi-level diplomacy. He also argues that growing military activities in Europe highlight the need for military-to-military contacts for managing escalation risks, in which the OSCE can facilitate necessary dialogues and support future monitoring activities as it has in the past.

14 March 2025 | Alexander Graef
OSCERussia-WestOSCERussia-West relationsArms ControlConventional Arms ControlDefenceDiplomacyEastern EuropeEmerging technologiesEuropeForeign policyMilitary DoctrineNATONuclear Arms ControlNuclear WeaponsOpen Skies TreatyOSCERisk ReductionRussiaRussia-West RelationsSecurityUkraine
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-WestOSCERussia-West relationsArms ControlBalkansBaltic SeaBalticsBlack SeaCentral EuropeConventional Arms ControlDefenceDiplomacyEastern EuropeEUEuropeForeign policyMoldovaNATONuclear DisarmamentNuclear WeaponsOpen Skies TreatyOSCERisk ReductionRussiaRussia-West RelationsSecurityUkraineUnited Nations
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-WestOSCERussia-West relationsArms ControlDefenceDiplomacyEastern EuropeEUEuropeForeign policyInternational LawNATOOSCERisk ReductionRussiaRussia-West RelationsSecurityUkraineUnited Nations
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-WestRussia-West relationsDefenceDemocracyDiplomacyEUEuropeForeign policyMilitary DoctrineNATOPodcastsRussiaRussia-West RelationsUkraineUnited States
Commentary

Network reflections: What key defence capabilities should Europe prioritise to strengthen its security architecture?

Following the heated Trump-Vance-Zelensky meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, 28 February, and subsequent gatherings of European leaders, we asked members of our Network what key defence capabilities Europe should prioritise to strengthen its security architecture.

7 March 2025 | Robert Ondrejcsák, Nathalie Tocci, Ziya Meral and Catherine Ashton
Network ReflectionsEuropean DefenceDefenceEuropeForeign policyRussiaRussia-West RelationsSecurityTransatlantic relationsUkraineUnited States
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 relationsRussiaRussia-West RelationsUkraineUnited States
Podcast

The Women Leaders podcast: Decision-makers and dilemmas

In times of change, politicians often seek a return to past stability—but today, amid the most significant changes to Euro-Atlantic security since the end of the Cold War, no leader speaks of a status quo ante. In this special episode, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El and Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže discuss Ukraine, the new realities in European defence, and the enduring impact of Russian and Soviet occupation.

28 February 2025 | Ilana Bet-El and Florence Ferrando
Russia-WestRussia-West relationsArms ControlBaltic SeaBalticsDefenceDemocracyDiplomacyEastern EuropeEUEuropeForeign policyNATORisk ReductionRussiaRussia-West RelationsSecurityUkraineUnited NationsUnited States