British Pugwash Newsletter: February 2025

Items include:

  1. Dr P.J. Blount: Video, ‘The Co-evolution of the Nuclear-Space Age’
  2. Student and Young Pugwash Conference, King’s College London, 15 March
  3. ‘AI and Warfare’ event, Oxford University, 17 March
  4. Videos of recent webinars
  5. Recent publications
  6. Research project: request for participants
  7. Stop Ecocide Law
  8. Annual Membership
  9. Obituary: Professor Max Klein

  1. Dr P.J. Blount, Webinar video, 19 February

‘Sibling Rivalry: The Co-evolution of the Nuclear-Space Age’

Dr P.J. Blount (Assistant Professor of Space Law, Durham University Law School)

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 the other became the future promise of humanity.  This webinar explored the co-evolution of these technologies from the perspective of space security and reflected on how the spectre of nuclear war still shapes the security environment in outer space.

  1. 8th Annual Student and Young Pugwash Conference, King’s College London, 15 March

‘Stepping back from the brink of nuclear war: fresh thinking on peace and disarmament’

This conference will explore the arguments for and against nuclear weapons and what action citizens and governments can take to create a more peaceful future for all. The event will begin with a keynote panel of expert speakers followed by three panels where students and young professionals will share their ideas on how to advance peace, disarmament and ethical science.

More information is available here

To attend in person, register here

To attend online register via Zoom here

  1. Oxford University event: ‘AI and Warfare’ with Professor Stephen Rosen (Harvard)

17 March 2025, 4:30pm, The New Space, Mansfield Rd, OX1 3TZ

In person and online: https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/events/ai-and-warfare

  1. Videos of recent webinars 

Watch the videos of these recent webinars on our YouTube channel and online:

  1. Recent publications

  • British Pugwash

A Second U.S. “Strategic Defense Initiative”

Russia’s Updated Declaration concerning its Nuclear-Weapon-Use Doctrine

  • January

Samuel Charap, John J. Drennan, Julia Masterson, RAND, Scenarios for the Future of U.S.-Russia Strategic Stability and Arms Control: Results from a Track II Dialogue

Csongor Koromi, Politico, Kremlin wants to resume arms control talks with US ‘as soon as possible’

Arms Control Association, ACA Welcomes Trump’s Acknowledgement of the “Tremendous” Cost and Dangers of Nuclear Weapons and Interest in “Denuclearization” with Russia and China

Orange Wang and Zhuang Pinghui, South China Morning Post, Xi tells Putin he wants to take ties to new heights, soon after Trump’s return to White House

Zhang Tong, South China Morning Post, China plans to build ‘Three Gorges dam in space’ to harness solar power

Daryll Kimball, Arms Control Association, Pakistan and the Nuclear Danger in Asia

Joe Cirincione, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Trump has a strategic plan for the country: Gearing up for nuclear war

  • December

Anton Kolodyazhnyy and Guy Faulconbridge, Reuters, Russia will abandon its unilateral missile moratorium, Lavrov says

Ryan Chan, Newsweek, US and Ally Draft Nuclear Weapons Rules Amid China, North Korea Threat

Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com, Lukashenko Says Belarus Is Hosting Dozens of Russian Nuclear Weapons

Cesar Jaramillo, CIPS, The Enablers: How Nuclear-Dependent States Hinder Nuclear Disarmament

Daryl Kimball, Arms Control Association, Nuclear Challenges Facing the Next U.S. President

  • November

Moon of Alabama, Why These New Russian Missiles Are Real Game Changers

Better Order Project, Stabilizing a Post-Unipolar World

Steven Pifer, Brookings, Russia’s nuclear policy

Arms Control Association, Trump Re-Election Introduces New Variables to Nuclear Disarmament Equation

  1. Research project: request for participants

Dr James Simpkin is interested in hearing from people with views on his research project: ‘Tories Against the Bomb: Conservative Anti-Nuclearism 1900-2024’. The project outline is as follows:

‘Most have heard of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), but what about Tories Against Cruise and Trident (TACT) or the Young Conservatives’ Youth for Multilateral Disarmament? Nuclear disarmament is associated with left-wing politics, yet this research will explore Conservative anti-nuclearism for the first time. It will reveal the varied motivations for taking an anti-nuclear stance among elite Conservatives and grassroots supporters, uncovering perhaps the shyest of Tories: those opposed to nuclear weapons.’

If you are interested in discussing this project with Dr Simpkin, please email him on: jsimpkin@craven-college.ac.uk

  1. Stop Ecocide Law

Deolinda Eltringham from the Green Party has asked us to bring the Stop Ecocide Law project to the attention of our members and ask them to consider supporting the campaign.

For more information visit: https://www.stopecocide.earth/support 

  1. Annual Membership

We ask that members of British Pugwash contribute £25 a year to the organisation’s running costs. May we suggest that you check that your subscription is up to date. If you need to make a payment, our bank details are here. Membership for students and people under 30 is free.

  1. Obituary: Professor Max Klein

Prof Uta Klein has asked us to share the sad news that her husband, and longtime Pugwash member, Prof Max Klein, passed away last August. You can view Prof Klein’s obituary here and his memorial here.