ELN publications feature authoritative research, high-quality analysis, diverse viewpoints and practical recommendations to address current foreign, defence, and security policy challenges.
What do emerging and disruptive technologies like AI mean for the role of humans in war? How might AI-augmented human-machine interaction affect the role of human command in war? And what might an AI commander look like? James Johnson explores these topics and assesses whether or not we are moving towards a situation where AI-enabled autonomous weapons start making strategic decisions, as opposed to humans, during conflict.
The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would increase nuclear risks and undermine key nonproliferation norms, but it would not alter the strategic balance in Europe. For Russia, sharing nuclear weapons with Belarus might well backfire politically. NATO countries should therefore resist the impulse to up the nuclear ante.
As progress on disarmament is stagnating, nuclear risk reduction may hold the key to keeping the pillar alive. Maren Vieluf writes that nuclear weapons states must step up and work tirelessly on risk reduction measures to fulfil their NPT commitments.
Ret. Ambassador Spiros Lampridis argues that alongside the war in Ukraine, NATO will need to take a deep dive into its challenges ahead of and during this year’s Vilnius Summit.
Responding to a recent commentary by ELN Director Sir Adam Thomson, Yahueni Preiherman, co-chair of the YGLN, argues that using the language of a new “Cold War” is unhelpful in understanding current and evolving geopolitical tensions. Instead, he argues that the current Russia-West China-US tensions are less the result of an ideological clash and more reflect an adversarial security dilemna.
After President XI’s visit to Moscow, we asked our network members for their thoughts on what this means for the war in Ukraine and global politics more broadly. Is China ramping up its support for Russia or acting as a calming influence on a potential future junior partner? Read the piece to see our members’ contributions in full.
As Xi Jinping has made a much-publicised visit to Moscow this week, ELN members have been assessing the implications for European security, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the wider faultlines in global geopolitics. In this article, originally published in Danish by the Berlingske newspaper, Mogens Lykketoft provides context on the visit and argues the US and China need to rein in their rivalry in the interests of the rest of the world.
The European Leadership Network (ELN) with the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN) have worked together on three reports that analyse the changing nature of the strategic risks landscape in the Asia-Pacific. These reports look into how these changes affect the non-proliferation regime, and come from the Australian, Japanese and South Korean perspectives. Full report details within the article.
A new Russian offensive this year raises the threat of Belarus playing a more active role in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Even though facts on the ground point to this being a less likely scenario, decision-makers should prepare for the unexpected. The situation could change at any moment, with the risk of the conflict widening.