Executive Director
Risk Reduction | Nuclear Disarmament | International Organisations
Sebastian Brixey-Williams is the Executive Director of BASIC.
A researcher, facilitator, and mediator, his areas of expertise and practice include multilateral nuclear diplomacy, strategic risk reduction, arms control, nuclear responsibilities, and nuclear weapons law. He leads the Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities in collaboration with the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security, University of Birmingham, in the context of which he is presently running a track II dialogue process in the Asia-Pacific.
Across the different dimensions of his practice, Sebastian is seized by the questions of how the practices of nuclear diplomacy can be strengthened to improve their outcomes; the relationships between nuclear weapons and wider existential risks such as the ecological crises of the Anthropocene; and how to enable the transition towards a more safe, secure and sustainable global security system.
A strong proponent of diversity and inclusion in the field, Sebastian provided the original thought leadership behind BASIC’s Emerging Voices Network and co-founded the breakfast series that produced the Gender, Think Tanks and International Affairs Toolkit (2021) with Chatham House and the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy. Sebastian is a Gender Champion in Nuclear Policy, an ELN Mentor, and a member of the Younger Generation Leadership Network on Euro-Atlantic Security. Over 2020-2021, he was an N Square Fellow working to improve the sustainability of the nuclear policy field.
Sebastian has been invited to brief national and international policy forums, including the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Nuclear Disarmament, the UN-ROK Jeju Process, three UK All-Party Parliamentary Groups (on Drones, on Global Security and Non-Proliferation, and on Future Generations), and the UK House of Lords International Relations Committee.
Outside of work, Sebastian is a multi-instrumentalist who has been known to dabble with pianos, guitars, fiddles, accordions, synthesisers, and music production.
Office: +44 20 3488 6974
Discover below Sebastian’s posts ordered from newest to oldest
BASIC is pleased to become a member of the Rethinking Security Network, a community of policymakers, academics, and civil society organisations thinking holistically about security policy can be shaped to be more equitable, just, and ecologically-grounded.
We are delighted to formally announce BASIC’s new Mission Statement.
Read it here
BASIC takes its responsibilities to environmental sustainability seriously. We see a direct relationship between the climate emergency and broader ecological crisis, and efforts to strengthen global security, and we therefore try to do what we can to keep our carbon emissions to an absolute minimum. Read more here.
The following remarks were delivered on 14 December 2022 at the Wilton Park ‘The NPT after the 2022 Review Conference’ by BASIC’s Executive Director, Sebastian Brixey-Williams.
Read more about our main contributors and browse their latest content and publications.
Nick researches and teaches in the areas of international relations and international security at the University of York. His particular…
A. Vinod Kumar is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), and a Visiting Faculty at the Institute of…
Norman Moss is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He was born in London in 1928 but was raised and educated partly in New York.
Anthony V. Rinna is a Senior Editor with Sino-NK, a research organization dedicated to analyzing Northeast Asia. Formerly trained as an…
Rebecca Cousins was BASIC’s Programme Director for the Next Gen project. Prior to that, she was a diplomat in the British Foreign and…
Rachel Staley Grant joined NTI in August 2016 and serves as the Director of Public Education. Between 2011 and 2016, Staley Grant…
Ted Seay is an independent arms control and disarmament consultant currently based in London. He was assigned to the U.S. Mission to…
Dr Ian Kearns is the co-Founder of the European Leadership Network and serves on the ELN’s Board of Directors. Dr Kearns served as…
Anne Penketh was BASIC Program Director in Washington from 2009 to 2012. Previously she was a staff journalist with major media…
Tim recently completed his PhD exploring the politics of nuclear disarmament at Warwick University as part of a collaborative…
Lianet Vazquez was the Herbert Scoville Jr Peace Fellow at BASIC in 2014.
Tabitha Sanders is one of the organisers of #NatSecGirlSquad, a US initiative to support women working in National Security. She was a…
Nina Sofie Pedersen is a Researcher at BASIC. Her current responsibilities include researching and developing the Programme on…
Sir John Thomson was a British Diplomat who was High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to the UN. He served as adviser to BASIC.
Christina Pena was BASIC’s Analyst and Programme Manager.
Dr Ian Davis is an independent human security and arms control consultant, writer and founding director of NATO Watch…