Video: 70th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, 8 July
On 8 July the Royal Society, British Pugwash and International Pugwash hosted a special event marking the 70th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. You can watch the video of the event here: On July 9, 1955, two of the most eminent intellectuals of the 20th century, Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein, issued an appeal to humanity, […]
UNA-UK calls for urgent steps to protect the nuclear non-proliferation system after the US attack on Iran
https://una.org.uk/news/una-uk-calls-urgent-steps-protect-nuclear-non-proliferation-system-after-us-attack-iran 26 June 2025 After hundreds of civilians have been killed, there is more uncertainty and opacity than ever about the state of Iran’s nuclear programme. The ceasefire announced between Israel and Iran is far better than the alternatives, but this was an unnecessary war of choice, as diplomatic routes were still available to try […]
Video: Mark Lynas, “Six Minutes to Winter: Nuclear War and How to Avoid It”
On 25 May, Mark Lynas gave the British Pugwash Lecture at the Hay Festival. Watch the video here: Nuclear war is a far greater immediate threat to humanity’s survival than climate change, yet we are in near-total denial. The environment campaigner and Six Degrees author puts the issue back to the top of the global […]
Video: Annie Jacobsen on ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’, 12 June
British Pugwash and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament hosted an evening of discussion with Annie Jacobsen, author of the international bestseller ‘Nuclear War – A Scenario’. A chilling, minute-by-minute account of what follows a nuclear attack, the book exposes the horrifying realities of such a war. Watch the video here: With the rising threat of […]
Video: Annual Lecture with Dr David Ellwood, 14 May
At our 2025 Annual Lecture on Wednesday 14 May, Dr David Ellwood spoke on: ‘Is even a minimal nuclear deterrent MAD?’ You can watch the video here: Outline The five recognized nuclear weapons states have a legal obligation to pursue disarmament under Article VI of the NPT, but as the Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of Atomic […]
The Case for Parliament to Scrutinise the UK’s Nuclear Weapons Programme
This article, by Steve Barwick and Dr Tim Street, first appeared in the Rethinking Security blog edited by Richard Reeve. … Over the last few months military spending has catapulted up the political agenda. The UK Government’s plans to increase the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) budget to 2.5% of GDP and divert funds from the overseas aid […]
Review of the 8th Annual SYP Conference: ‘Stepping back from the brink of nuclear war: fresh thinking on peace and disarmament’
The conference took place at King’s College London on March 15th. The theme of the conference was ‘Stepping back from the brink of nuclear war: fresh thinking on peace and disarmament’ The aim of the event was to encourage discussion on the legal, political and technical questions associated with this topic, with a focus on […]
France’s Nuclear Umbrella Offer to other European States
As noted in a post on this site on 14 March, recent developments in relations between the United States and Europe have prompted President Macron to offer (as he did in 2020) to make France’s nuclear forces available for the defence of Europe. This post touches briefly on some of the issues that lie at […]
Video: Dr Hans Blix, ‘A Farewell to Wars,’ April 2nd
You can watch the video of our recent webinar with Dr Hans Blix (on April 2nd) below: Dr Blix explained the central thoughts and findings in his book ‘A Farewell to Wars. The Growing Restraints on the Interstate Use of Force’. Biography Dr Blix studied at the universities of Uppsala, Columbia and Cambridge, and was appointed to an associate […]
Europeanising France’s Nuclear Deterrent? by Prof Tom Sauer
Europeanising France’s Nuclear Deterrent? by Prof Tom Sauer Recent developments in relations between the United States and Europe have prompted the President of France to offer to make France’s nuclear forces available for the defence of Europe. What follows is a critique of that offer by a Belgian member of Pugwash, Tom Sauer, who […]
Agenda: 8th Annual SYP Peace and Disarmament Conference, 15/03/25, King’s College London
You are invited to the 8th Annual Student / Young Pugwash Conference on 15 March 2025 The venue is King’s College London, Franklin-Wilkins Building (Room 1.10). Registration will take place from 9.30am and the first session will start at 10am. The event will end at around 5pm followed by a social at a nearby pub. […]
British Pugwash Newsletter: February 2025
Items include: Dr P.J. Blount: Video, ‘The Co-evolution of the Nuclear-Space Age’ Student and Young Pugwash Conference, King’s College London, 15 March ‘AI and Warfare’ event, Oxford University, 17 March Videos of recent webinars Recent publications Research project: request for participants Stop Ecocide Law Annual Membership Obituary: Professor Max Klein … Dr P.J. Blount, Webinar […]
Invitation: SYP Peace and Disarmament Conference, London, 15/03/25
You are invited to the 8th Annual Student / Young Pugwash Conference on 15 March 2025 The venue is King’s College London, Franklin-Wilkins Building (Room 1.10). Registration will take place from 9.30am and the first session will start at 10am. The event will end at 5.30pm followed by a social at a nearby pub. […]
Video: ‘Autonomous Armageddon, Nuclear Weapons and AI’
This webinar, held on January 26, explored the alarming dangers posed by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into nuclear weapons systems. Hosted by three Nobel Peace Prize-winning organizations dedicated to eliminating nuclear weapons, this event featured expert speakers, including: – Representative of Nihon Hidankyo, 2024 Nobel Peace Prize – Professor Geoffrey Hinton, 2024 Nobel […]
Video: Dr P.J. Blount on ‘The Co-evolution of the Nuclear-Space Age’ 19 February
‘Sibling Rivalry: The Co-evolution of the Nuclear-Space Age’ with Dr P.J. Blount (Assistant Professor of Space Law, Durham University Law School), 19 February Watch the video here: Space and nuclear technologies grew up together with deep interlinkages bred from a common Cold War genealogy. Despite their deep connections, one became the feared older brother and […]
Webinar video: Prof Tom Sauer on ‘New Technology and Nuclear Deterrence’ 29/01/25
Watch the video of this webinar on our YouTube channel here: Prof Sauer argued that the combination of emerging and disruptive technologies and strategic conventional weapons may have a revolutionary impact on the future of the debate about nuclear weapons. While emerging and disruptive technologies may yield additional arguments to keep relying on nuclear weapons […]
A Second U.S. “Strategic Defense Initiative”
President Trump has issued an executive order that calls for deploying and maintaining a “next-generation missile defense shield”, an “Iron Dome for America”. … EXECUTIVE ORDER The Iron Dome for America January 27, 2025 Sec. 2 Policy. To further the goal of peace through strength, it is the policy of the United States that: (a) […]
Call for presentations: SYP Conference, 15th March 2025
8th Annual SYP Conference: Call for presentations Theme: ‘Stepping back from the brink of nuclear war: fresh thinking on peace and disarmament’ Location: Central London, Venue TBC / Online via zoom Date: Saturday 15th March 2025 Get involved! SYP wants to give students and young professionals the opportunity to present their thoughts […]
Russia’s Updated Declaration concerning its Nuclear-Weapon-Use Doctrine
On 19 November President Putin signed an executive order approving “the fundamentals of Russia’s state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence.” This declaration is essentially an update of a document that issued in 2020. It sets out Russia’s nuclear-weapon-use doctrine. Among the most important updates is this sentence – “The Russian Federation reserves the […]
Webinar video: Prof Dan Plesch and Manuel Galileo on ‘Strategic Stability and Conventional Strikes’ 12/12/24
Watch the video of this webinar here: With the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) set to expire on Feb 5 2026, strategic weapons issues loom over relations between the major powers. Against this context, our latest webinar spread awareness of a new report ‘Masters of the Air: Strategic Stability and conventional strikes’. The report […]
British Pugwash Newsletter, November 2024
Items include: Dan Plesch / Manuel Galileo, Webinar Invitation, 12 December Video: Zhou Bo on ‘China’s Approach to Nuclear Disarmament’ Publication: ‘AI: Implications for Peace and Security, Articles from the SYP Conference 2024’ Recent articles and reports of interest Members Survey 2024 Pugwash Forum Mailing List Annual Membership Webinar invitation: Prof Dan Plesch […]
AI: Implications for Peace and Security, Articles from the SYP Conference 2024
Student / Young Pugwash (SYP) organises an annual conference on peace and disarmament. The subject of the 7th conference, held in January 2024 at King’s College London, was ‘Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Peace and Security’.Our aim was to encourage new thinking on the legal, political and technical questions associated with this topic, with a focus […]
Nuclear “Counterforce” Strategies and Nuclear Arms-Racing, an interview with Prof Nick Ritchie
On 1 August Dr Vipin Narang, an Acting Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Defence, speaking at the CSIS in Washington D.C., warned that “Absent a change in the nuclear trajectories of the PRC, Russia, and North Korea, we may reach a point where a change in the size or posture of our current […]
Video now online: ‘China’s Approach to Nuclear Disarmament’, with Zhou Bo, 08/10 @ 14.00
Watch this webinar from 8 October which explored China’s call for a P5 no-first-use agreement and related nuclear policies. The meeting was chaired by Peter Jenkins, Chairman of British Pugwash. Speaker: Zhou Bo will draw on a recent article in Foreign Affairs to spell out the nuclear risk reduction potential of a P5 no-first-use agreement […]
The Life and Work of Prof Joseph Rotblat: Selected Articles and Resources
You have probably seen the film Oppenheimer which tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and how he helped develop the first nuclear weapons during WW2. But maybe you haven’t heard of Joseph Rotblat, a Polish-born scientist who emigrated to Britain in 1938. Rotblat took part in the Manhattan Project in 1944, but resigned when […]
British Pugwash Newsletter: August 2024
Items include: Video: Carlo Rovelli, Hay Festival annual lecture / interview Report: The Future for UK Defence, Diplomacy and Disarmament Recent articles and reports of interest Pugwash Forum mailing list Annual membership 1. Video: Carlo Rovelli, Hay Festival annual lecture / interview This year’s lecture featured Professor Carlo Rovelli, who spoke on how ‘Relations, […]
British Pugwash update: June 2024
Fact checking the Sunday Telegraph’s interview with Jens Stoltenberg A recent ‘exclusive’ article in the Sunday Telegraph featured an interview with Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO. It is concerning that the summary of Stoltenberg’s answers provided in the article is misleading in places. For example, the journalist who conducted the interview wrote that: “NATO […]
British Pugwash Newsletter: May 2024
Items include: Upcoming Hay Festival lecture, 1 June: Professor Carlo Rovelli Annual lecture and interview: Professor Dame Athene Donald Webinar video: Dr James Acton AGM and Annual Report Student / Young Pugwash Update Recent articles and reports of interest Obituary: Kit Hill Download this newsletter as a pdf here. Upcoming Hay Festival lecture, 1 June: […]
Video of Webinar with Dr James Acton, 8th April @ 6pm
On Monday 8th April at 6pm we held our latest webinar with Dr James Acton. Watch the video of the event below… We discussed rising tensions between the nuclear powers, and the prospects for a more peaceful world. In particular, we considered nuclear entanglement and escalation risks, and the impact of new technologies on nuclear […]
China’s Call for a No-First-Use Agreement
Reuters reported from Beijing on 28 February that the director general of the arms control department in the PRC foreign ministry had called for States with the largest nuclear arsenals to negotiate a treaty on no-first-use of nuclear weapons against each other, or to make political statements to that effect. The call was made during […]
New Briefing: Aspects of UK Nuclear Weapons Possession
Aspects of UK Nuclear Weapons Possession Download a pdf of this briefing here. This briefing covers four areas: i) UK nuclear weapons modernisation ii) the UK-US nuclear relationship iii) UK nuclear use policy in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war iv) UK action on nuclear arms control and disarmament. 1. Modernising the […]
Video, Dr Steve Fetter 18/10/23: ‘Reducing nuclear weapons and the risk of nuclear war’
Date / Time: 18 October 2023, 1400-1530 BST Venue: Dockrill room, K6.07, Strand Building, King’s College London Strand Campus, WC24 2LS Webinar: To join the event online via zoom register here NB: Please note that if you wish to attend the event in-person at King’s College London, you must register through CSSS’ online form in […]
Nuclear risk: and how we can work to reduce it- Video
On May 23 the Physics Department at Oxford University hosted two British Pugwash Executive Committee members (Dr David Ellwood and Dr Peter Collecott) who spoke on the subject of ‘Nuclear risk: and how we can work to reduce it’. Event description 90 years ago, while waiting to cross the road at Russell Square, the refugee […]