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.
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.
The world shifted on 20 January 2025 with Donald Trump’s return to the White House. His bold actions—exiting the Paris Climate Agreement and World Health Organisation—signal an ambition to not only dismantle Biden’s legacy but elements of the post-war multilateral order. However, much of President Trump’s focus so far has centred on domestic issues, raising questions about the gap we may see between rhetoric and reality in US foreign policy under Trump 2.0. ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El explores this with Dr Kathleen McInnis.
As part of the ELN’s New European Voices on Existential Risk (NEVER) network’s podcast, “Ok, Doomer!”, ELN Policy and Impact Director Jane Kinninmont spoke with Historian, Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor, and Director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Professor Francis Gavin, on the history of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Last weekend, President Bashar al Assad of Syria, the cruel and brutal head of a corrupt dynasty that had ruled Syria for over half a century, fled with his family to Moscow — just two weeks after a rebel group started upon an offensive from north to south. To dissect these dramatic events, ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El, is joined by Professor Hind Kabawat, a former member of the High Negotiations Committee at the Syrian peace talks in Geneva, a prominent leader of Syrian civil society, and former classmate of Bashar al Assad.
From the 11-14th of November, the Younger Generation Leaders Network (YGLN) met in Vienna for their annual gathering. Over the course of the week, YGLN members met with various international organisations and diplomatic missions, fostered insightful discussions, and were able to network and collaborate with one another. Read the commentary for a full account of the annual gathering.