Nuclear Disarmament
BASIC works with governments, academics, think tanks and journalists to build momentum behind innovative, practical steps towards nuclear arms control and disarmament. Using our tried and tested methodology around dialogue and active listening, we work collaboratively with states to help them identify and overcome the barriers to multilateral disarmament. We see this as a critical principle and pragmatic enterprise that has to absorb competing political and social objectives at national and international level.
BASIC works in this policy area at the national and international levels. In 2017, BASIC published Meaningful Multilateralism, comprising 30 actionable proposals on nuclear disarmament and arms control for the UK Government. In the approach to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2020, BASIC has sought to identify diplomatic opportunities for states to more clearly outline the circumstances under which they would contemplate the use of nuclear weapons, through the issuance of ‘negative security assurances.’
We are grateful for the generous support of the Edith M Ellis 1985 Charitable Trust, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Global Affairs Canada, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Network for Social Change, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation, the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and all of our donors who wish to remain anonymous.
Analysis and Publications for this Programme
Ratifying Rarotonga and Pelindaba: A No-Brainer for the Biden Administration
Dr Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh argues that the Biden Administration should use its Democratic Senate majority to ratify the Rarotonga and Pelindaba treaties.
BASIC Co-Director Gives Remarks at the P5 Process
Sebastian Brixey-Williams, BASIC Co-Director, was invited to be a rapporteur at the P5 Process held in Paris.
BASIC Co-Director gives remarks at the Jeju Process
On November 11, 2021 BASIC Co-Director, Sebastian Brixey-Williams, was invited to give his remarks to…
Conventional Arms Control and Nuclear Security: The Challenge of Conventional Prompt Global Strike Weapons
Guest author, Peter Rautenbach, explores the challenges of Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) weapons, and looks to arms control to mitigate the ensuing risks.
BASIC Co-Director gives remarks at KAS Multilateral Dialogue and Atomic Reporters Study Programme Launch
On 7 July 2021 BASIC Co-Director, Sebastian Brixey Williams, was invited to give his remarks at the launch of the KAS Multilateral Dialogue and Atomic Reporters study programme, ‘A Neglected Story – The Legacy of Splitting the Atom.’
BASIC Co-Director Marion Messmer selected as Arms Control Negotiation Academy (ACONA) Fellow
We are delighted to share that BASIC Co-Director, Marion Messmer, has been selected for the Arms Control Negotiation Academy 2021-22 Fellowship.
Less is More: the Feminist Case Against Minimum Deterrence
BASIC Policy Intern, Laura Rose Brown, applies a critical lens to the concept of minimum deterrence in light of the UK’s recent decision to increase the limit on its nuclear stockpile.
TPNW and Humanitarian Initiative Resource List
A new research resource, compiled by Dr Nick Ritchie, collates sources on the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Humanitarian Initiative.
Active Programmes
BASIC believes in making progress on nuclear disarmament, arms control, and non-proliferation through multiple complementary approaches. We continuously develop our programmes – streams of research – through sustained engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, collectively searching for the art of the possible.
Our current programmes are listed below. View the current programmes page by clicking here.
