BASIC organized a private roundtable with experts and officials to take stock of the current strategic and political dynamics surrounding negotiations on a Fissile Material (Cut-Off) Treaty (FM(C)T). BASIC produced a backgrounder literature review for the roundtable discussion, and also a report summarizing the discussion.
Publication
Deterrence, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and UK Trident
This discussion paper is the fourth in a series and outlines the emergence of Britain's nuclear deterrence posture and thinking over the last seventy years, and how successive governments have sought to balance this with effective non-proliferation diplomacy. Professor Simpson's paper outlines the evolution of Britain's twin-track approach of trying to address its own national security whilst strengthening global security through multilateral nuclear disarmament, and asks whether this approach has a sustained future ahead.
Taking A Different Starting Point
In this opinion brief, Julie Rønbeck reflects on the Norwegian conference on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, which was held March 4-5. She also reviews the broader context for the event and civil society involvement.
The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent: An International Perspective
BASIC's Executive Director reflects upon the Nuclear Deterrence Summit, which included a BASIC event on “European Perspectives on Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st Century” on February 20, 2013. This brief paper includes summaries of views expressed by a number of international participants at the conference, with a focus on transatlantic relations.
Evidence submitted by CND
JANUARY 2013
Summary of evidence submitted by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND):
The UK and Armed Drones
While the majority of drones are still used for surveillance activities and their use widespread for reconnaissance and civilian purposes around the world, there has in recent years been the emergence of attack drones by three countries – the United States, Israel and the UK.
Theatre Nuclear Weapons and the next round of bilateral New START Treaty follow-on talks
BASIC Senior Consultant Ted Seay briefly reviews the military and arms control history of TNWs and highlights Russian concerns around forging a new agreement on remaining U.S. and Russian warheads. He concludes the paper by assessing several options for the United States and NATO.
Russia in the Middle East
With recent regime changes and ongoing conflicts, the Middle East is a major concern for security threats and proliferation of WMD. The international community is heavily involved in the region, but it seems that Russia's goals in and for the Middle East have been scrutinized by Western powers.