In November 2023, BASIC’s Emerging Voices Network (EVN) launched the second phase of a policy cycle focused on de-siloing existential threats and how they relate to nuclear weapons. Existential threats are not just literal threats to humanity’s existence, but also threats to our way of life and place in the natural world. With generous support from the Ploughshares Fund, this EVN policy cycle investigates the web of interconnections between existential threats and how all states can better recognise these links and develop policies that reflect these connections. In previous iterations of this work (Phase I), EVN members tackled the siloing of the nuclear field, investigating issues such as social justice, racism and white supremacy, and environmental impacts.
At a time when there are a plethora of existential threats all competing for our attention, it is important to recognise that they are, in fact, inextricably linked. Nuclear war, climate change, pandemics, biotechnology, and AI are some of the issues that could threaten our very existence. This is especially important to recognise at a time of increased global tensions amongst Nuclear Weapon States (NWS), rising global temperatures, and the ongoing development of new and potentially disruptive technologies. It is essential to comprehensively consider these threats and how they impact each other, or else there will be serious gaps in our understanding and, consequently, in our policies to address them.
Against this backdrop, BASIC organised a focus-group-based policy cycle for EVN members to develop their understanding of these issues and use this to inform policy recommendations for states, Non-State Actors (NGOs), and civil society. This policy cycle examines the intersection of interconnected existential threats and asks how we can legislate to mitigate them on a collective basis.
Read the report below:
