This year’s British Pugwash Lecture at the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts will be given by Professor Dominic Lieven.
He will be presenting his latest work In the Shadow of the Gods.…
This year’s British Pugwash Lecture at the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts will be given by Professor Dominic Lieven.
He will be presenting his latest work In the Shadow of the Gods.…
In the video below, Dr Ira Helfand, co-chairman of the Nuclear Weapons Abolition Committee of Physicians for Social Responsibility, offers a timely reminder of the horrifying power of thermonuclear weapons and of the dire consequences of the political irresponsibility that has left Russia and the United States in possession of 10,000+ nuclear warheads thirty years after the end of the Cold War.…
The below is a British Pugwash Note, prepared by Peter Jenkins CMG, Chairman of British Pugwash. It is titled ‘How high is the risk of nuclear weapon use following the Russian invasion of Ukraine?’…
On Tues 26th April, British Pugwash hosted a talk and discussion on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), covering issues like costs, security and safeguards.
The talk was given by Dr Mamdouh El-Shanawany, Chief Nuclear Advisor at Lloyd’s Register and formerly the Head of Nuclear Safety Assessment Section at the International Atomic Energy Agency.…
The British Pugwash Executive Committee commends the below editorial by Daryl G. Kimball, the Executive Director of the Arms Control Association.
Full article here
Text of the Editorial:
President Vladimir Putin has chosen the path of destruction instead of diplomacy.…
On Wed 6th April, Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) hosted a webinar about the potential impacts of climate change on coastal nuclear infrastructure. The event considered how climate change impacts (eg.…
On the 30th and 31st March, British Pugwash and the Pugwash Committee of Kazakhstan held a joint workshop (made up of two sessions) to discuss analysis, ideas and past experiences pertinent to nuclear risk reduction.…
Student/Young Pugwash (SYP) UK’s Project on Ethical Science has compiled lists of resources to help the STEM community navigate the ethical and social challenges it may face over the coming years.…
On the 12th February 2022, Student/Young Pugwash (SYP) UK hosted its online Annual Conference on the theme of ‘Technology & Peace’. The co-hosts were University of Leicester’s Third Nuclear Age project.…
British Pugwash Executive Committee member Dr David Ellwood has published an article in the most recent edition of the Peace Review – A Journal of Social Justice (here).
A pre-print version (in PDF) of the article can be found here
This edition of the Peace Review focuses on the issue of ‘Lethal Autonomous Weapons’.…
On Tuesday 1st March, Oxford Student/Young Pugwash hosted Prof. Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith for a talk and discussion about the relationship between science and diplomacy.
Sir Christopher is a theoretical physicist and was knighted ‘for services to particle physics’ in 2001.…
On 3rd February at 6pm, Leeds Student/Young Pugwash (SYP) UK hosted a discussion with Fabian Hamilton MP on the UK’s role in nuclear non-proliferation and arms control.
Fabian is the Shadow Minister for Peace & Disarmament and the MP for Leeds North East.…
On Thursday 25th November, British Pugwash and SYP UK’s Project on Ethical Science co-hosted a panel discussion on the technical, ethical and political challenges posed by drone warfare and lethal autonomous weapons (‘Killer Robots’).
British Pugwash Note (Nov 2021) is below and in PDF here. The full report here.
British Pugwash commissioned a study from Harry Spencer, a postgraduate scholar at the University of Birmingham, which addresses the capabilities and effectiveness of current and near-future missile defence against traditional and hypersonic missiles.…
On 28th and 29th October, members of British Pugwash’s Executive Committee were pleased to participate in a series of discussions on the future of arms control, Russia-West relations, and future Pugwash activities.…
British Pugwash note: Two Thirds of UK Public Opposed to “First Use” of Nuclear Weapons (PDF report here)
The “Interim National Security Strategic Guidance” of the United States, released on 3 March 2021, states that the Biden administration will take steps to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national security strategy, while ensuring that the U.S.…
On Tuesday 19th October, Oxford Student/Young Pugwash hosted an online event on the ‘challenge of UK radioactive waste disposal’.
The speaker was Dr Ian Crossland. Ian is an engineer with over 50 years experience in the nuclear industry, with a focus on decommissioning and radioactive waste management.…
This year’s post-AGM Lecture was held on 22nd September.
The title was: ‘Missile Defence and Strategic Stability in the Hypersonic Age’
It was given by Harry Spencer, a postgraduate at University of Birmingham, speaking about his ongoing research with British Pugwash on missile defence systems, hypersonics and strategic stability.…
British Pugwash is pleased to release newly commissioned research about the potential impacts of climate change on the UK’s nuclear weapons infrastructure.
The report, by Dr Sally Brown from Bournemouth University, is titled ‘Risks of sea-level rise to ports and associated facilities aligning with the Trident programme: A focus on Coulport, Faslane, Barrow-in-Furness and Devonport’.…
In the first episode of Student/Young Pugwash UK’s Project on Ethical Science podcast series, Niamh Healy (UCL) sat down with Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Regius Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge.…
Student/Young Pugwash (SYP) UK’s Niamh Healy caught up with Prof. Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, to discuss the ethical and social aspects of science and technology.
Questions covered:
• Why should scientists engage with the public?…
Statement prepared by Pugwash Conferences and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Released on 7th June.
The below is a summary of and link to a commentary by Ambassador Peter Jenkins, Chair of British Pugwash.
The United Kingdom government recently announced, in the context of an integrated policy review, that it will move to an overall nuclear weapon stockpile of no more than 260 (from a previous target of no more than 180) and that it will extend its longstanding policy of deliberate ambiguity by no longer making public figures for its operational stockpile, deployed warheads and deployed missiles.…
Student/Young Pugwash UK’s Project on Ethical Science held two events in June 2021.
—
A virtual careers event exploring different opportunities available to STEM graduates.…
Topics covered in the British Pugwash April 2021 Newsletter include:
The newsletter can be found online here…
British Pugwash is troubled to note the UK Government’s decisions, announced in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, to increase the UK’s stockpile of nuclear warheads and no longer to reveal the number of these weapons that will be kept operational.…
Throughout March, Student/Young Pugwash (SYP) UK ran a series of online ‘peace workshops’, bringing together international researchers and policy practitioners to discuss opportunities for international co-operation, arms control and peace.
Some of the sessions were recorded (below).…
In this SYP UK webinar, Dr Kanta Dihal (Leverhulme Future of Intelligence Centre) discussed her work on Decolonising AI and Julia Slupska (Digital Ethics Lab) talked about feminist cybersecurity.
The Chair was Niamh Healy (UCL), SYP UK President.…
In this webinar, SYP UK hosted Riley Taitingfong and Dr Hilding Neilson discussed science and technology from the perspective of Indigenous communities.
Riley Taitingfong, a PhD candidate at UCSD (here), introduced her work on gene drives on Pacific Ocean islands in the context of historic and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism and military experimentation.…
Topics covered in the British Pugwash April/May 2022 Newsletter include:
1. Post-AGM Lecture on Small Modular Reactors – 26th April
2. UK/Kazakh Pugwash Workshop on Nuclear Risk Reduction – Video
3.…
Topics covered in the British Pugwash July/August 2022 Newsletter include:
1. Annual General Meeting – 26th April
2. Post-AGM Lecture on Small Modular Reactors – 26th April
3. Pugwash Note on nuclear risks and Ukraine
4.…
Topics covered include:
Address: Ground Floor Flat,
63A Great Russell Street,
London WC1B 3BJ
Email: office@britishpugwash.org
Data Protection (DP): To read our DP Policy document, contact the office.