Listen to the first episode of the NEVER podcast – Ok, Doomer! In this episode, we explore the basics of man-made existential risk, featuring an introduction to the topic, its relationship to great power competition, how governments have dealt with potential existential risks such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, and how they should respond to them in future.
The massive escalation of violence in the Middle East has major ramifications for Europe, which has a long history of involvement in the defunct Middle East Peace Process. Jane Kinninmont writes that the long-term answer must be that both peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, need to live in the same small area under some political configuration that works for both of them. Here she explores what medium-term political pathway could lead there and how European governments can show leadership.
Neither Russian peacekeepers nor EU mediation have prevented Azerbaijan from violently retaking Nagorno-Karabakh. The ELN’s Policy & Impact Director Jane Kinninmont analyses the geopolitical realignments underlying the offensive which has caused tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians to flee, and suggests means to avoid further conflict in the South Caucasus.
This weekend’s meeting between the EU, Azerbaijan and Armenia is timely and important, as there are real risks that the humanitarian emergency in Nagorno-Karabakh may be a prelude to wider escalation in the southern Caucasus, writes Jane Kinninmont. As the Minsk Group of governments tasked with addressing the conflict appears to be barely active, the EU role will be critical.
Three members of the ELN’s Network discuss how the Russia-West-Ukraine challenge might develop in 2023 and what other issues we should all be alert to in the coming 12 months.
In October, the ELN and Hanns Seidel Foundation partnered on a track 1.5 meeting in London which brought together a range of European and Iranian participants both to assess how the JCPOA could still be revived and to consider alternative scenarios in more detail. The ELN’s Policy and Impact Director, Jane Kinninmont, captures the key highlights from the meeting.