Pugwash is pleased to announce that the 63rd Pugwash International Conference will take place from 1 – 5 March 2020, kindly hosted by the Government of the State of Qatar in Doha.…
Arms Control Winter Course, Italy – International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO) – Jan 2020
Details have now been released of the fantastic ISODARCO Winter Course, organised by Italian Pugwash.
Full details and registration is online here: www.isodarco.it
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59th Winter Course of the International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO)
Subject: Emerging Technologies, Evolving Nuclear Postures, and Deteriorating Norms: is the Global Nuclear Order Eroding?…
Pugwash training day – DIY Video – Create compelling videos to spread the message
British Pugwash and Christian CND are co-hosting a media training day that will focus on how to produce compelling videos to promote a cause, explain an issue and reach new audiences.…
Ethical Science? – Nottingham University – 23rd October 2019
British Pugwash is co-hosting with University of Nottingham Physics Department a mini-conference about ethical issues in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The conference is open to all ages and disciplines.…
Pugwash news in June: Iran visit, Prof Finney on killer robots, President on NPT
Item 1: Iran visit – International Pugwash visited Tehran (Iran) for a two-day meeting to discuss the JCPOA (the ‘Iran Deal’) – Meeting notes and photos here
Item 2: Killer robots – Professor John Finney, of the British Pugwash Trust, has written for Responsible Science about the risks of ‘killer robots’ and the UN’s COMEST Commissions work on the issue – here
Item 3: NPT update – International Pugwash President Sergio Duarte published a commentary about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – here…
Pugwash at APPG on drones: ‘Drones, swarming and the future of warfare’
Our Executive Committee member, Sebastian Brixey-Williams, spoke about some of his recent research on marine drones to a meeting organised by three different All Party Parliamentary Groups.
The presentation touched on some of his Pugwash-funded research on how trends in unmanned underwater vehicles might impact submarine-based nuclear weapons systems.…
New British Pugwash Group Exec Committee elected
The British Pugwash Group (BPG) is a membership organisation that brings together scientists and others concerned with international affairs and disarmament. Its Executive Committee for managing the organisation on a day-to-day basis and is responsible for BPG research projects and other types of work.…
Video: Student Pugwash at UK PONI Conference on British nuclear policy!
Jana Wattenberg, the Student/Young Pugwash representative at Aberystwyth University, spoke at this year’s UK PONI Conference, the premier national forum for emerging experts in the nuclear policy community.
Her talk, on ‘The UK and the Ban Treaty’ was included in Session One on ‘UK Nuclear Policy and Practice’ (programme here)
Video below – Starts at 18:00 mins
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British Pugwash Annual Report 2018
Key topics include: developments on the international scene, including US and Russia; Student / Young Pugwash activities; WMD Awareness – the podcast; Events; BPG development – eg. Business Development Plan; International Pugwash activities.…
The Salisbury poisonings – Multimedia from public lecture – SOAS, 15th April 2019
On 26th April 2019, British Pugwash co-hosted a public lecture at SOAS, titled:
The Salisbury poisonings – one year after
Our guest speaker was Dr Richard Guthrie, a member of British Pugwash Executive Committee and an expert on chemical and biological weapons.…
Public lecture: The Salisbury poisonings – one year after (26th April)
This public lecture will cover some of the events during and after the Salisbury poisonings in March last year, from both political and technical perspectives.
Our guest speaker is Dr Richard Guthrie, a member of British Pugwash Executive Committee and an expert on chemical and biological weapons.…
Student/Young Pugwash UK – Strategy Day!
Student/Young Pugwash (SYP) UK brings together students, researchers, practitioners and campaigners interested in international security and the interface between politics and science. We are a part of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, which uses the best social and natural science expertise to inform governments and the public about issues relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction – especially nuclear weapons – issues of war and peace, the environment and the social responsibility of scientists.…
British Pugwash Newsletter March 2019
Topics covered in the British Pugwash Spring 2019 Newsletter include:
- Delegation to Moscow to discuss arms control
- Hypersonic missiles and strategic stability – new research
- British Pugwash Annual General Meeting + Public Lecture
- Student/Young Pugwash UK – Conference Report
- Rotblat Memorial Lecture – A review
- ‘Capturing Technology.
British Pugwash at ‘Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control’ in Germany
On 15th March 2019, a conference was held at the German Federal Foreign Office titled ‘Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control’.
The aim of the Conference was to promote a well-informed international dialogue on the nature and implications of the current technological trends and to discuss whether new solutions are needed to ensure that the global arms control architecture can effectively capture new technologies.…
Pugwash Peace & Disarmament Conference 2019 – multimedia report!
Student / Young Pugwash UK held its fourth Annual Conference in February 2019, titled ‘Pugwash Peace & Disarmament Conference‘. It explored the prospects for arms control and disarmament over the coming years, with focuses on nuclear weapons and emerging technologies.…
Pugwash delegation in Moscow to discuss arms control
From 27-29 January, a Pugwash delegation comprising the Secretary General, Paolo Cotta-Ramusino, Chair of British Pugwash Group, Peter Jenkins, and Pugwash Council Members Götz Neuneck, Alexander Nikitin, and Alexander Dynkin had a series of meetings in Moscow to discuss the future of arms control as part of a new Pugwash project.…
Student Pugwashites attended arms control winter course in Italy (ISODARCO 2019)
Three members of Student/Young Pugwash UK attended the prestigious International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO), held in Trento, Italy from 6th to 13th January 2019.
ISODARCO is an annual, intensive course for scholars and practitioners, featuring high-profile lecturers from around the world.…
Pugwash Peace & Disarmament Conference – SYP UK Annual Conference
Student/Young Pugwash UK is collaborating with British Pugwash to host a major, one-day conference exploring the prospects for arms control and disarmament over the coming years.
The conference will be on 23rd February 2019 at SOAS, London.…
Warwick meeting: 24/01/19 – ‘The Death of the Iran Deal and Nuclear Instability’
Blurb by Warwick Student/Young Pugwash:
A nuclear storm gathers over the Middle East.
Reckless American foreign policy has almost certainly doomed the Iran Nuclear Deal, the only instrument standing between Iran and the acquisition of the deadliest device to have ever existed.…
UCL meeting: 30/01/19 – ‘Autonomous weapons: should cognitive machines be allowed to kill’
UCL Diplomacy in Action society will be hosting Professor John Finney, a physicist and member of British Pugwash, will be presenting the talk: “Autonomous Weapons: should cognitive machines be allowed to kill?”.…
SYP UK papers from Kazakhstan conference published
In August 2017, senior and youth members of International Pugwash met in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the 62nd Pugwash Conference – ‘Confronting New Nuclear Dangers’ (multimedia here).
Russian Pugwash has recently published a selection of papers from the conference, in their new publication ‘Global and regional security issues and prospects for cooperation’.…
Nottingham meeting, 6/12/18: Self-driving cars, drones and ‘Killer Robots’
On 6th December, Pugwashite Professor John Finney (Physics, UCL) spoke to Physics students at University of Nottingham about some of the complex ethical and legal questions raised by emerging technologies, particularly remotely-controlled and autonomous vehicles (including weapons systems).…
Rotblat Memorial Lecture – ‘Cold War Nuclear Confrontation: Lessons for Today’ – 21st November 2018
On 21st November, British Pugwash was delighted to co-organise with the Polish Embassy UK the Sir Joseph Rotblat Memorial Lecture. This year’s topic was:
‘Joseph Rotblat and the Cold War Nuclear Confrontation: Lessons for Today’
Our guest speaker was Sir Rodric Braithwaite GCMG.…
Pugwash Peace & Disarmament Conference – Save the date!
Student/Young Pugwash UK is collaborating with British Pugwash to host a major, one-day conference exploring the prospects for arms control and disarmament over the coming years.
The conference will be on 23rd February 2019 at SOAS, London.…
Become a member of British Pugwash Group
British Pugwash (BP) is a membership organisation for scientists, social scientists, practitioners and others interested in peace, disarmament and other issues with scientific or technical aspects. Benefits of membership include:
- Invitations throughout the year to events on cutting-edge issues
- A regular newsletter
- Opportunities to network with and instigate research projects with other members, including in our international Pugwash community
- Free admission to SYP UK conferences
For background on BP activity, read:
British Pugwash Annual Report 2017
The fee for senior members of British Pugwash is £25 per year but this has been reduced to £5 per year for people under 30 years old.…
SYP events – Winter 2018 – space, Nobel, Salisbury, fake news
8th October, 6pm – 7pm, OC0.01 (The Oculus, University of Warwick)
Roundtable discussion: Outer space and society
Organised by: Warwick SYP
23rd October, 6:00-7:30. MS.04 (Maths & Stats, University of Warwick)
How to win a Nobel Peace Prize?…
British Pugwash Newsletter October 2018
Topics covered in the British Pugwash Late 2018 Newsletter include:
- The state of the Iran nuclear deal
- Nuclear power – future prospects
- Researchers oppose EU military research programme
- Killer robots (guest piece by Article 36)
- Upcoming events
News from SYP UK – social media paper published, Nicolas in Russia
Over the next twelve months, Student/Young Pugwash UK will be publishing ideas and research from our members about the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies.
Our first paper is a think piece by Dávid Almási, an undergraduate at University of Warwick, who considers whether changes in mass communication technologies will affect how governments justify but also respond to the possession and use of Weapons of Mass Destruction.…
British Pugwash Annual Report 2017
Key topics include: developments on the international scene, including US and Russia; Trident: emerging technologies; the NPT RevCon and the Disarmament Institute (BRINDI); science and ethics: the ethics of modern robotics; energy policy and climate change; Student / Young Pugwash activities; events in 2017
New podcast – Weapons of Mass Destruction Awareness!
British Pugwash was the host of a major, public awareness campaign for over 10 years – WMD Awareness – which educated the public and politicians about the reality of nuclear (and other) weapons.…
Warwick Peace Conference – multimedia report!
Student / Young Pugwash UK held its third Annual Conference in March 2018, titled ‘Warwick Peace Conference‘.
The conference brought in over 70 participants, including young researchers, practitioners and students from across the world.…
Lord Martin Rees: Peering into the Future – The Bumpy Road Ahead
Sir Joseph Rotblat honoured by Polish Heritage Society plaque
Members of British Pugwash were delighted to participate in a ceremony on 6th November 2017, in which a plaque honouring Sir Joseph Rotblat was unveiled on the corner of Bury Place and Great Russell Street, London (WCIB 3BJ).…