2022 brought not only renewed threats of nuclear war in Europe but the convening of two major conferences on nuclear weapons, in Vienna and New York. In this new long-read article, Rebecca Eleanor Johnson reflects on the very different aims, expectations and outcomes of the TPNW and NPT conferences amid the urgent need for progress in global disarmament.
Arms Control and Confidence-building after the Ukraine War
Arms control regimes have been among the many casualties of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the wider context of collapsing trust between Moscow and the West. Jordan Smith argues that initiatives at multiple levels to restrain, record and verify the development and deployment of weapons by all sides of the conflict are essential to rebuilding confidence and a crucial part of any eventual peace settlement.
Russia’s Mobilisation and the Ghosts of 1914
As Russia mobilises its young men to the war in Ukraine, Larry Attree warns that the ghosts of 1914 call on us to be wary of those who oversimplify the situation and glibly downplay the risks of confrontation and escalation. Navigating the dangers requires a more nuanced analysis and a more responsible strategy.
Unarmed Resistance to Occupation: Lessons for Ukraine
With Ukraine coming under attack and potential occupation by the Russian military, Andrew Rigby draws on his studies of nonviolent resistance during the Second World War and in contemporary Palestine to suggest some lessons for the Ukrainian people.
A Diplomatic Bridge over Troubled Irish Waters
While NATO and Russia rattle sabres over Ukraine, the neutral Irish government and a group of local fishermen secured an important agreement to relocate a Russian naval exercise out of their fishing grounds. The message, says Clem McCartney, is that a conciliatory approach can and does work.