European Leadership Network (ELN)

18/08/2026

How can we avoid accidental armageddon?

In a new episode of our Ok, Doomer! podcast, a stacked panel of experts discuss nuclear fail-safe reviews, trust and deterrence, and practical ways to reduce the risk of unintended nuclear use.

🎧 Listen now: https://ow.ly/Mabx50ZANrx

13/08/2026

Check out Younger Generation Leaders Network on Euro-Atlantic Security (YGLN) member, Senior Research Lead at

Rhode Island School of Design and Non-Resident Expert on AI at James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Alice Saltini, explain how geopolitical rivalries drive states to race to integrate new technologies like AI into nuclear systems, putting strategic advantage ahead of safety, in Nuclear Bombs and Bots, the first episode in our new Ok, Doomer! podcast series.

https://europeanleadershipnetwork.org/multimedia/ok-doomer-nuclear-bombs-and-bots/

12/08/2026

Donald Trump’s shifting priorities are forcing NATO to confront difficult and urgent questions about the future of US support for European defence.

Former UK Chief of the Defence Staff David Richards and Atlantic Council Senior Advisor Harlan Ullman argue that the alliance needs a "revitalised rationale" as Washington turns its attention elsewhere. They examine what NATO can learn from the war in Ukraine and make the case for an alliance-wide porcupine defence, designed to make any Russian attack so costly and so likely to fail that Moscow would not contemplate it in the first place.

Read their new commentary here:

Given Donald Trump’s unpredictability over what he may or may not do regarding the US presence in and support for NATO, there are a range of possible consequences arising from his quixotic actions for America’s longest-standing alliance. David Richards and Harlan Ullman unpack how Europe can com...

11/08/2026

The ELN’s Ok, Doomer! podcast is back! Listen in to learn how emerging technologies are reshaping nuclear weapons policy. Experts discuss the risks and benefits of AI and other disruptive technologies, historical technological shifts, changing threat perceptions, and the importance of training military personnel to recognise AI-driven biases. Check it out below ⤵️

https://europeanleadershipnetwork.org/multimedia/ok-doomer-nuclear-bombs-and-bots/

Hosted by ELN Deputy Executive Director Bekki Field with support from ELN Project and Communications Officer Edan Simpson, this episode features:

-Julia Franziska Berghofer, ELN Nuclear and New Technologies Programme Lead
- Alexandra Bell, Younger Generation Leaders Network on Euro-Atlantic Security (YGLN) alumnus and President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- Alice Saltini, Senior Research Lead at Rhode Island School of Design
and Non-Resident Expert on AI at James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
- Ksenija Trajkovska, Research Analyst at
Open Nuclear Network

Interested in this topic? Check out the ELN's Nuclear and New Technologies Programme below ⤵️

https://europeanleadershipnetwork.org/our-policy-research-programmes/nuclear-weapons-and-emerging-technologies-programme/

28/07/2026

Artificial intelligence is transforming the nuclear risk landscape faster than governance can adapt. ELN Policy Fellow Nikita Gryazin argues that the recently signed Rome Declaration should mark the beginning, not the end, of efforts to strengthen nuclear risk reduction. Doing so would help preserve meaningful human control and update crisis management for the AI era.

AI is transforming the nuclear risk landscape faster than governance can adapt. ELN Policy Fellow Nikita Gryazin argues that the recently signed Rome Declaration should mark the beginning, not the end, of efforts to strengthen nuclear risk reduction. Doing so would help preserve meaningful human con...

24/07/2026

As summer unfolds across much of Europe and the US, war continues to devastate Ukraine and fuel instability across the Middle East. Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller joins ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El to unpack the narratives behind Russia’s war against Ukraine, the legacy of the Cold War, and the strategic misunderstandings that shaped today’s security landscape.

As summer unfolds across much of Europe and the US, war continues to devastate Ukraine and fuel instability across the Middle East. Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller joins ELN Senior Associate Fellow Ilana Bet-El to unpack the narratives behind Russia's war against Ukraine, the....

16/07/2026

NATO may have emerged from the Ankara summit looking more united—but appearances can be deceiving.

ELN Senior Associate Fellow Nicholas Williams argues that while the summit succeeded in reaffirming allied unity and commitments on defence spending, a more profound shift may be underway. As the United States gradually reduces its military footprint in Europe and expects Europeans to assume greater responsibility for their own defence, the credibility of NATO's deterrence could be quietly eroding.

Despite the success of the Ankara summit, the US is gradually decoupling itself from Europe in ways that will have profound consequences for European security and strategic stability. As ELN Senior Associate Fellow Nicholas Williams writes, NATO will not collapse in a single dramatic moment; it is s...

09/07/2026

Last week Ilana Bet-El spoke with Laurel Rapp, Director of the US and North America Programme at , to discuss the state of the US on its 250th birthday, and how recent developments across Greenland, Venezuela and Iran – as well as domestically – have altered global perceptions of the US.

Check out the snippet below where she discusses the US-Iranian relationship ⤵️

https://europeanleadershipnetwork.org/multimedia/the-women-leaders-podcast-the-us-at-250-the-exceptional-experiment-with-laurel-rapp/

09/07/2026

30 years ago, the International Court of Justice issued its landmark advisory opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons, confirming that nuclear weapons are subject to international law and reaffirming states' legal obligation to pursue disarmament.

With nuclear threats returning to the centre of international politics, ELN Policy Fellow Jana Baldus examines why the Court's 1996 opinion remains as relevant as ever, what has changed over the past three decades, and why its legacy should be a call to action rather than simply a moment for reflection.

Thirty years ago today, the International Court of Justice drew a direct line between nuclear threats and the potential use of nuclear weapons. Yet as nuclear rhetoric returns to the centre of international politics, ELN Policy Fellow Jana Baldus argues the Court's landmark advisory opinion remains....

07/07/2026

A recent study suggests that more than 70% of Europeans believe Europe should “go it alone” on defence and security after decades of close cooperation with the United States. But is the continent truly prepared for a future where Washington assumes a significantly reduced role?

As SIPRI Distinguished Associate Fellow Tarja Cronberg argues, answering this question will require an open and honest discussion of both common interests and genuine differences. That conversation needs to happen at the NATO summit in Ankara. hashtag

European security architecture is at a crossroads as NATO and the EU search for new roles amid growing uncertainty over the future of transatlantic security. With debate over a more European NATO and a European nuclear umbrella gathering pace, Tarja Cronberg argues that the Ankara summit will test w...