ELN publications feature authoritative research, high-quality analysis, diverse viewpoints and practical recommendations to address current foreign, defence, and security policy challenges.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In light of the US and Armenia starting a new Strategic Partnership, YGLN member Daniel Shapiro explores the move by Armenia and other states in the Caucasus to diversify their alliances, especially in light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian and US officials met in Saudi Arabia last week to discuss the future of Ukraine and European security, without Europeans present. On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we asked members of our network: how should Europeans react and how can they make their voices heard on Ukraine?
On 12 February 2025, the post-Cold War era ended, says Ilana Bet-El, as President Trump and President Putin agreed to negotiate without Ukraine or the EU. Subsequent US actions, including cutting defence aid and demanding Ukraine relinquish resources, have left Europe reeling. ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El explores the fallout with Ukrainian civil society leaders Olena Tregub and Inna Pidluska.
The fall of the Assad government was a serious blow to Moscow’s image in the MENA region and on the international stage. It was a reality check for those who believed the Kremlin’s support could be the key to political survival. However, Nikolay Kozhanov argues that Assad’s fall is unlikely to be a turning point in Russia’s presence in the broader Middle East. He notes that Russia has worked to diversify its relationships across the region since the mid-2010s, especially looking to strengthen ties in the Gulf.