Syeda Saba Batool
The US has accused China of carrying out a 'yield-producing' nuclear test in 2020 – but the global test-ban monitor found no supporting evidence. Syeda Saba Batool argues that the dispute matters anyway: such allegations can be used to pressure China into talks – and to normalise a possible US return to testing Read more
Konstantin Schendzielorz
Deterrence is back — but not as we knew it. Once a strategy of nuclear restraint, the term is now being stretched to justify aggressive military actions, at home and abroad. Konstantin Schendzielorz argues that, as meanings shift, so do red lines. The nuclear umbrella may be turning into a very real sword Read more
Rhys Lewis-Jones
A nuclear war between great powers would mean the collapse of human civilisation – and could lead to the irreversible breakdown of global society. Rhys Lewis-Jones argues that humanity faces an existential nuclear threat that demands deliberate and urgent action Read more
Adérito Vicente
The rise of China as a nuclear peer to the US, amid deepening strategic ties with Russia, poses an unprecedented 'two-peer challenge' to NATO. Adérito Vicente examines how this shifting landscape endangers alliance cohesion. Here, he argues for a fundamental rethinking of Europe’s deterrence and defence posture Read more
Sterre Van Buuren
Nuclear weapons come with a hidden cost: they erode democracy. In every nuclear state, secrecy, executive powers and stifled debate cut the public off from their government’s nuclear decision-making. Sterre van Buuren explains why this is – and why citizens must still push for more accountability Read more
Amélie Jaques-Apke
Are we nearing a new incarnation of the French vision of a Gaullist Europe? Focusing on strategic autonomy, nuclear deterrence, coalitions of the willing, threat perception, and defence capability, Amélie Jaques-Apke examines the strategic dilemmas, and conceptual and operational deficiencies, in European defence policy Read more
Cecilia Gustavsson
The core principles of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) are to prevent a the development and acquisition of nuclear weapons, and to reach complete disarmament. But, argues Cecilia Gustavsson, without improved transparency and independent verification mechanisms, the NPT could, paradoxically, accelerate a new nuclear arms race Read more
Maren Vieluf
On 29 August 2025, the 15th International Day against Nuclear Tests will mark 80 years since the first nuclear test. Amid renewed geopolitical strain, Maren Vieluf argues that defending the nuclear test ban remains vital to preserving international norms and preventing further erosion of the global nuclear order Read more
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