With elections looming and pressure mounting on Keir Starmer to up the pace of British military spending increases, the Prime Minister will find that there are no easy ways to find the funds. Michael Brzoska and Ian Davis argue that neither the case for the spending increases nor the trade-offs necessary to achieve them have … Continue reading Paying for increased military spending: No easy choices for Starmer
How Europe should respond to Trump’s threats over Greenland
The crisis over Greenland marks the greatest possibility of rupture in trans-Atlantic relations since NATO’s foundation. Ian Davis considers how European states might respond to US sanctions and potential annexation of Greenland, arguing that planning should start now for a post-NATO security architecture in Europe and the Arctic. On 17 January, US President Donald Trump … Continue reading How Europe should respond to Trump’s threats over Greenland
CSBMs not shoot-downs are required to take the heat out of the escalating airspace violations
A series of violations of NATO airspace by Russian crewed and uncrewed aircraft in September significantly escalated the rhetoric and potential for deadly violence between European adversaries beyond Ukraine. Ian Davis suggests four ways in which the alliance can deter Russia while reducing the risk of miscalculation and the dangers of escalation. NATO member states … Continue reading CSBMs not shoot-downs are required to take the heat out of the escalating airspace violations
The G7 Statement on the Israel-Iran War: an epitaph to international law and Western values
Supposedly the guardians of Western, democratic values and a 'rules-based' order, the leaders of the G7 nations' joint statement on the Israel-Iran War is yet another selective application of international law that makes us all less secure, write Ian Davis and Paul Ingram. Keir Starmer and the other G7 leaders appear to have lost the … Continue reading The G7 Statement on the Israel-Iran War: an epitaph to international law and Western values
Europe needs a new Nuclear Forces Reduction Treaty rather than a Eurobomb
With huge uncertainties in the relationship between the United States, Russia and NATO, Europe is awash with proposals to share, ‘extend’ or procure nuclear weapons. To avoid further proliferation and the inevitable catastrophic failure of ‘deterrence’, Ian Davis and Paul Ingram argue for an urgent revival of nuclear disarmament between Europe and Russia.
A Cuckoo in the Nest: Eight ways NATO states can respond to Trump 2.0
February 2025 looks like being a defining month for European security and the eight-decade transatlantic alliance. With European leaders unsure whether the Trump administration identifies more with Putin’s Russia than EU democracies, Ian Davis proposes eight ways in which European security might be rethought and reclaimed, within NATO or beyond it.
Do we really need a NATO bank to ‘Trump-proof’ European security?
The prospect of NATO-sceptic Donald Trump returning to the US presidency after next month’s election has stimulated much discussion of how to ‘Trump-proof’ European collective security. Ian Davis argues that the solution lies in funding global demobilization, not rearmament.
Fight Tonight, Blight Tomorrow: NATO consolidates amidst climate breakdown
Two of the many consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been the release of vast amounts of climate-damaging carbon and the reconsolidation of the NATO alliance. Ian Davis reflects on two recent reports that illustrate how the world’s revived obsession with military ‘deterrence’ and protracted war heightens the risk of more than one type of existential catastrophe.
Why do we not know if US nuclear weapons are returning to Lakenheath?
Why do we not know if US nuclear weapons are about to return to the UK? Because British sovereignty over military-decision making has been surrendered to the United States and NATO, argues Ian Davis.
Bargaining NATO’s tank fixation for peace
As the Ukrainian winter largely freezes positions on both sides of the grinding war there, temperatures in NATO have been rising over the idea that Germany is obstructing critical supply of battle tanks to Kyiv. Ian Davis poses four larger questions around this tank fixation and how it might best support negotiations to end the war.
From Aleppo to Mariupol: Stopping use of explosive weapons in populated areas
Russian use of aerial, artillery and missile barrages against Ukrainian cities recalls the criminal devastation of Aleppo and other Syrian cities. Ian Davis assesses the possibilities and urgent moral imperative to protect civilians by banning the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA).