The YGLN is composed of 145 members in their early careers who are rising stars and specialists in security policy, economics, journalism, law and civil society. Formed in 2014, the YGLN was created to bridge the divide between Russia and the West and establish a much-needed platform for understanding and dialogue.
From the 26th-29th of June, 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.
On the 21st of July, the ELN co-hosted a private screening of Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed film ‘Oppenheimer’ with a range of peace and security partners. We asked nuclear policy experts in attendance what they made of the film and its relevance for arms control, non-proliferation, and nuclear threats today.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has exposed critical flaws in the international nuclear realm. Valeriia Hesse writes that to prevent the total erosion of the non-proliferation norm, a realistic and pragmatic approach towards gradual nuclear arms reductions must be pursued. Ahead of the NPT PrepCom, she outlines concrete steps that the international community can take to build a stronger and more resilient nuclear order.
Ahead of the 2023 NPT Preparatory Committee, this policy brief examines how nuclear threats have changed with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, how to define a ‘nuclear threat’, and how NPT member states should react to nuclear threats. It sets out recommendations for how State Parties can strengthen the NPT and the nuclear taboo in the current Review Cycle.
The NPT has been described as a cornerstone upon which the rest of the global non-proliferation architecture has been developed, but it also marks the site where illustrious dreams lay buried. Ahead of the PrepCom in Vienna starting next week, YGLN member Olamide Samuel explores what a ‘cornerstone’ means and writes that we have a unique opportunity to protect the NPT as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, governments in the former Soviet Union were immediately forced to deal with difficult geopolitical realities. In this report for the ELN, YGLN member Daniel Shapiro uses quantitative and qualitative analysis to show there is increased heterogeneity in geopolitical positioning among post-Soviet states and offers key lessons from this for Western policymakers.
ELN Policy Fellow Julia Berghofer made a Bundestag statement on the establishment of a special fund (“Sondervermögen Bundeswehr”).
With the passing of Robert E. Berls, Jr., the YGLN and its members lost a valued mentor, friend, and role model. Bob Berls passed away on November 10, 2021. Bob Berls, who was a senior advisor for Russia and Eurasia at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, was one of the bright minds who brought...
ELN Policy Fellow Katarina Kertysova was interviewed by Euractiv about a recent NATO survey looking at how citizens perceive the principles of collective defense, increasing funding, or working with the EU, Russia or China. She argued that the government and ministries in Slovakia must...
ELN Policy Fellow Julia Berghofer speaks at Friedrich Ebert Stiftung roundtable on “Arms Control Post-Trump: A Revival of International Initiatives?”
ELN Policy Fellow Katarina Kertysova spoke to VOA's Henry Ridgwell about the Arctic Council Ministerial, Russia's climate strategy, and the militarisation of the Arctic, which continues to undermine regional cooperation on areas of mutual interest. The article can be found here.
YGLN member Roger Hilton discusses the raising tensions in Russia-Ukraine border in his new article for New Europe, "A 'burn' on the Ukrainian border". He argues that Russian President Vladimir Putin has mishandled the situation while destabilising Eastern Ukraine could only make things worse...
