The Emerging Voices Network presents the policy recommendations from its first policy working cycle.
Latest Publications
Read our latest publications, from January 2018 onwards.
The Nuclear Responsibilities Toolkit: A Practical Guide for Thinking, Talking and Writing
Publication of the Nuclear Responsibilities Toolkit (2021), a conceptual and practical guide to policy communities who would like to experiment with the Nuclear Responsibilities Approach.
Upcoming Event: The Emerging Voices Network Next Generation Forum 2021
Sign up now to attend the Emerging Voices Network Next Generation Forum on 15th September 2021.
Bombs, Brexit Boys and Bairns: A Feminist Critique of Nuclear (In)security in the Integrated Review
Clare Duncanson and Catherine Eschle provide a feminist critique of the UK’s Integrated Review.
A View from Pakistan – Review of ‘Nuclear Responsibilities: A New Approach for Thinking and Talking About Nuclear Weapons’
Rabia Akhtar reviews the Nuclear Responsibilities Approach from a Pakistani perspective.
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.
Could Person-Centered Security be America’s Future?
BASIC Policy Fellow, Emily Enright, explores President Biden’s security model, making the case for a Person-Centered approach to security moving forward.
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.
Event Recording: BASIC Co-Director Presents at OxPeace 2021
On 15th May, BASIC Co-Director Sebastian Brixey-Williams was invited to speak at the OxPeace 2021 Conference ’Peace in the Nuclear Era: threats, treaties and public understanding.’ View the recording here.
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.
Celebrating Board Member Trevor McCrisken
In May 2021, Trevor McCrisken retired from the BASIC board after sixteen years of service and contribution to BASIC’s development.
Our most shared
BASIC is developing new approaches to overcome states’ dependency on the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, which blocks global nuclear disarmament and drives proliferation. We engage diverse perspectives, encourage empathy across states, and broaden the context of debate. We have an established reputation for non-partisan, non-judgmental, cross-cultural engagement and for seeking common ground.
Our current programmes are listed below. To see our completed programmes, visit our archive.
Phase 2.0 of the Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities
The Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities brings together Nuclear Weapon States and Non-Nuclear Weapon States to foster understanding and dialogue on the responsibilities of states and state leaders around nuclear weapons. Launched in 2016, the Programme is now moving into an exciting second phase – find out more here.
Report: How much does the UK spend on nuclear weapons?
This report draws upon a mixture of publicly available data and estimates in order to outline both the current operating costs of the Trident nuclear weapon system, as well as the estimated costs of the current plans to renew the UK’s nuclear arsenal.
Report: (Dis)Continuous Deterrence: Challenges to Britain’s Nuclear Doctrine
Despite strong rhetorical support on part of the government for Continuous At-Sea Deterrence (CASD), a real risk exists that CASD could be interrupted in the early 2030s.
BASIC Annual Report 2017
2017 was a tough year for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Read our latest Annual Report to find out how we worked towards creating a world free of the risk of nuclear weapons over now the course of 2017.
Report: Blowing up the Budget: The Cost Risk of Trident to UK Defence
BASIC’s new report illustrates in clear detail the cost risk of Trident renewal to the UK’s Defence budget; Dreadnought’s through life costs are likely to be between £110-114bn.
Report: Negative Security Assurances: The Test of Commitment to Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament?
Nuclear armed states already offer some limited and conditional guarantees (NSAs) that they will not threaten nuclear attack on other states that do not have nuclear weapons. This report looks at the opportunities there are in building upon these guarantees.
View by year
BASIC is developing new approaches to overcome states’ dependency on the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, which blocks global nuclear disarmament and drives proliferation.
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2017 Publications
Read our publications from last year. Our reports from this period include analysis of the implications of the Trump Administration on US nuclear policy, the risks posed by offensive cyber weapons to UK Trident submarines, and BASIC and UNA-UK’s call for UK leadership on disarmament and arms control at the multilateral level.
BASIC Annual Report 2017
2017 was a tough year for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Read our latest Annual Report to find out how we worked towards creating a world free of the risk of nuclear weapons over now the course of 2017.
Report: Changing Nuclear Weapons Policy in the Trump Era: Implications for Europe
President Trump’s emerging nuclear policy presents ‘extraordinary challenges to strategic stability, arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation within Europe’, and undermines European security. President Trump’s US Nuclear Posture Review is expected in the next two months.
Report: A Small Sacrifice for Security: Why Finland gave up its landmines
Finland joined the Antipersonnel (AP) Landmine Ban Treaty despite an overwhelming belief that their national defence doctrine depended upon the deployment of landmines, and the refusal of their neighbour Russia to participate. This decision appears to go against the core responsibility of government – to do all in its power to defend the territorial integrity of the state. But in fact, it reveals a more holistic sense of security, in which vital interests are seen as wrapped up in the wider interests of a strong and cohesive international community.
Negative Security Assurances (June 2017 Briefing)
In the first of a new series of briefing papers from BASIC Executive Director, Paul Ingram, reviews Negative Security Assurances (NSAs) and their significance in the context of the Ban Treaty talks and beyond.
Report: Hacking UK Trident: A Growing Threat
This paper reviews the growing potential for cyber-attack on the UK’s operational fleet of Vanguard-class submarines armed with nuclear-tipped Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles, and some of the implications for strategic stability.
Report: Meaningful Multilateralism: 30 Nuclear Disarmament Proposals for the Next UK Government
In Meaningful Multilateralism, BASIC and UNA–UK offer 30 multilateral disarmament proposals for the incoming UK Government after the General Election on the 8th June, themed according to three types of leadership the UK has previously shown in disarmament.
Must reads
BASIC is developing new approaches to overcome states’ dependency on the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, which blocks global nuclear disarmament and drives proliferation. We engage diverse perspectives, encourage empathy across states, and broaden the context of debate. We have an established reputation for non-partisan, non-judgmental, cross-cultural engagement and for seeking common ground.
Our current programmes are listed below. To see our completed programmes, visit our archive.
Hubris, Hypocrisy or Hedge?
The Integrated Review
In just 76 words highlighted below across three statements in the nuclear deterrent section of the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy (IR), the UK government reversed its policy of gradual reduction of the variety, number and salience of its nuclear weapons in place through successive governments since the end of the Cold War.
Biden and No First Use: an Opportunity for the Taking
President Obama considered it, and as Vice-President, Biden advocated for it. Will the Biden Administration now commit to a No First Use policy?
The Nuclear Weapons Dimensions of the 2021 Integrated Review: A First Look
The Johnson Government has set a decisive course away from the United Kingdom’s three decade-long trend of successive nuclear reductions and increasing transparency.
Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities Launches Major Report at the UN First Committee 2020
The BASIC-ICCS launch of ‘Nuclear Responsibilities’ hosted a line-up of expert speakers and a Q&A session to discuss the aims and achievements of the Programme.
Strategic Upheaval, Overhyped, or Something in Between? Forecasting the Relative Impacts of Cyber and Space Technologies
This is an extract from an article written by Marina Favaro and published by the…
Opinion: More Continuity Than Change? US Nuclear Weapons Policy Under a Biden or Trump Administration
Whether Americans vote Democrat or Republican on 3 November, there will likely be much continuity in US nuclear weapons policy, despite declarations in campaigning.
Joint Publications
Read some of our staff picks of BASIC’s best current and historic writing below.
Why we write
BASIC is developing new approaches to overcome states’ dependency on the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, which blocks global nuclear disarmament and drives proliferation. We engage diverse perspectives, encourage empathy across states, and broaden the context of debate. We have an established reputation for non-partisan, non-judgmental, cross-cultural engagement and for seeking common ground.
To view all of our Analysis content, visit the Analysis page by clicking here.