The Arctic is at the centre of a geopolitical competition between Russia, NATO states and increasingly China. This article, among other things, calls for urgent Arctic risk-reduction dialogue. thebulletin.org/2026/07/clim...

Climate change exacerbates nuclear risks in the Arctic. And we are not ready

Climate change is physically altering the operational environment of nuclear deterrence in the Arctic, but the institutions capable of managing these risks are fragmented and frozen in place.

thebulletin.org

NATO’s new €27bn fuel pipeline plan may lock the UK into £2.65bn of long-term military spending — with little parliamentary scrutiny and major missed opportunities for tackling fuel poverty at home. www.natowatch.org/sites/defaul...

The price for European allies signing on to France’s 'forward deterrence' concept may be much greater than argued here. Not gaining a vote on command or policy might be galling. But the ultimate price will be paid by all of us when nuclear deterrence fails. thebulletin.org/2026/07/forw...

Forward deterrence: What's (not) in it for France's partners

Four months after President Macron pitched a European "forward deterrence" concept, uneven bilateral terms and strict French nuclear autonomy threaten to leave non-nuclear allies with little say. To p...

thebulletin.org

A ban on AI-enabled nuclear weapons should be top of the nuclear risk reduction agenda. But NATO's nuclear three (US, UK & France) strongly oppose a ban on military uses of AI, as do others (China, Russia etc). Public pressure is needed to drive change. globalnobelassembly.org/rome-declara...

Sign the Rome Declaration on AI & Nuclear Weapons

Humanity stands at a defining moment. Read and sign the Rome Declaration adopted by the Global Nobel Laureates Assembly to urge the disarming of AI-enabled nuclear systems.

globalnobelassembly.org

NATO’s extra military spending in 2025 alone could lead to additional emissions of 44 million tCO2e and it is failing to meet its own modest climate commitments. The highest reductions in core military emissions are found in neutral Ireland and Switzerland. rethinkingsecurity.org.uk/2026/07/17/m...

Military Climate Action Swamped by Spending Rises

Some militaries have strategies to reduce their carbon emissions – but the latest data shows these are being dwarfed by the effects of spiralling arms spending. Stuart Parkinson investigates.

rethinkingsecurity.org.uk

A managed US exit from NATO remains improbable, although a chaotic drawdown of the US military footprint in Europe has begun shifting the alliance's architecture. Still, European allies need to be working on 'Plan B' security and intelligence frameworks www.independent.org/article/2026...

The Case for a Managed U.S. Exit from NATO: News Article - Independent Institute

At the NATO summit in Türkiye, President Donald Trump added a new arrow of accusation to his quiver. For years now, he has rightfully complained and

independent.org

The Pew tracker of global opinions found a majority of surveyed nations—including 10 out of 12 NATO allies —now view China more positively than the United States. Public opinion has flipped heavily to China due to widespread disapproval of US foreign policy. www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/...

People in Many Countries Now View China More Positively Than the U.S.

Views of China have improved recently while views of the U.S. have worsened, to the point where China is now seen more positively than the U.S. in most countries surveyed.

pewresearch.org

Britain does need to invest more in strengthening its security. But it should do so with open eyes: not as tribute to American politics, not as a subsidy to defence contractors and not as a substitute for strategy. rethinkingsecurity.org.uk/2026/07/14/b...

Britain should be wary of mistaking higher defence spending for a real strategy

The July 2026 NATO Summit was another display of performative loyalty to Donald Trump, quantified in percentage points of GDP and multibillion dollar equipment contracts. Ian Davis argues that the …

rethinkingsecurity.org.uk

All these "quiet" changes to UK nuclear posture and doctrine have potentially head-splitting consequences for all of us. Nuclear weapons planning and 'deterrence' are inherently crimes against humanity due to the scale of destruction they promise. thebulletin.org/2026/07/is-l...

Is London shifting from nuclear deterrence to war-fighting?

After decades of gradual disarmament, London is quietly reversing course by expanding its warhead stockpile, altering its nuclear doctrine, and acquiring stealth F-35As to carry US tactical nuclear bo...

thebulletin.org

The Europeanisation of NATO is under way and was accelerated at the NATO Summit in Ankara. The question is therefore no longer whether NATO will become more European. It is by which path, and by when. For a detailed and unfiltered analysis of the summit: www.natowatch.org/default/2026...

The summit is again going to be primarily about managing President Trump and keeping the United States committed to the alliance. Will the calculation that the security costs of abandoning NATO exceed the political costs of sustaining it still hold post-Ankara? theconversation.com/nato-summit-...

Nato summit will reveal how alliance plans to manage European security as US cuts back its support

As ever, a lot will depend on the mood of the US president, Donald Trump.

theconversation.com

“The defence dividend is broadly speaking a con” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Infrastructure cuts to pay for defence will cost UK 10,000 jobs, analysis shows

Exclusive: Findings cast doubt on Starmer claims that reallocation of funds to MoD will boost British jobs

theguardian.com

The much-delayed UK Defence Investment Plan (DIP) continues to sink money into unneeded and costly legacy programmes. Spending on long-term nuclear capabilities will absorb the majority of the headline increase. A rethink is urgently needed. www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...

Diverse coalition urges PM to rethink military spending

More than fifty humanitarian, climate and peacebuilding organisations are urging Keir Starmer to rethink Britain's growing military spending, ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara.

quaker.org.uk

As NATO seeks to become more 'European-led' a core paradox remains: Europe is rapidly scaling its military spending but still struggles to project unified political leadership. Excellent article from Alexander Graef at ELN: europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/a...

A more European NATO, but who leads?

NATO's ongoing adaptation process and unilateral US decisions have created the foundations for a larger European role in transatlantic security, writes ELN Programme Lead Alexander Graef. Whether Euro...

europeanleadershipnetwork.org

The cancellation of the German-French crewed combat aircraft programme could serve as a vital catalyst for Europe, freeing up immense financial capital and engineering talent to focus on next-generation uncrewed technologies and comprehensive economic security. natowatch.org/default/2026...

Both Russia and Ukraine are suffering severe, landscape-altering losses and the conflict has evolved into a condition of mutual destruction. New opportunities for a negotiated settlement or a different strategic trajectory need to be urgently created. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Russia is losing the war in Ukraine, and Putin is desperate. But that’s when he’s at his most dangerous | Simon Tisdall

Don’t expect the Russian president to pursue peace. Instead, he could continue to expand the war beyond Ukraine’s borders – with dire risks for us all, says Guardian foreign affairs commentator Simon ...

theguardian.com

The penny has only partly dropped. While European confidence in US security guarantee has hit a historic low, a survey suggests, most still think US-European relations will get better after Trump. This is wishful thinking. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Only one in 10 Europeans now see US as an ally, survey suggests

Exclusive: poll across 15 countries finds ‘deep mistrust’, with majority doubting US would come to their aid in an attack

theguardian.com

The world is moving into an unstable, multipolar environment prone to technological miscalculation. Rather than focusing on raw numbers, modern rearmament centres on speed, stealth and digital integration. This creates several acute systemic risks to global stability. www.sipri.org/media/press-...

Increasing focus on nuclear weapons amid heightened escalation risks—new SIPRI Yearbook out now

(Stockholm, 8 June 2026) The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) today launches its annual assessment of the state of armaments, disarmament and international security.

sipri.org

This EXPLAINER brief looks at why Norway joined France’s 'forward nuclear deterrence' initiative. It reflects European efforts at strategic autonomy, but key concerns include transparency inconsistencies, future nuclear escalation risks and the undermining of the NPT. natowatch.org/default/2026...

The real issue is not whether NATO should be part of a future freedom of navigation mission in Hormuz, but how it can prevent the US/Israel from carrying out future illegal wars of aggression and how to gain widespread international legitimacy for what comes next. www.defensenews.com/opinion/2026...

NATO in Hormuz is not mission creep

Opinion: "For much of the last three decades, NATO has operated on the assumption that allied security cannot be defined solely by geography."

defensenews.com

UN peacekeepers face shrinking operational budgets and highly lethal asymmetric threats. NATO could help achieve the UN’s Future-Ready Peacekeeping benchmarks by supplying C4ISR upgrades, filling critical logistical gaps and expanding its training frameworks www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Peace fails if it is not defended. The UN’s peacekeepers cannot do this alone | Jean-Pierre Lacroix

Cuts in international support threaten the work of the women and men bringing hope to the world’s most vulnerable people

theguardian.com

Moving nuclear-capable assets closer to adversaries or increasing the number of host nations risks triggering dangerous escalations in Europe, increases the risk of miscalculation during a conventional crisis and undermines the NPT. www.reuters.com/business/aer...

US in talks to expand nuclear weapons deployments in Europe, FT says

The U.S. is discussing whether to deploy ​nuclear weapons in additional European NATO states, the ‌Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

reuters.com

Perspective: 1. Likely 'collateral damage' as a result of interception; 2. Deaths in Romania from drone incursions zero; from road accidents 1,478 (2024); 3. NATO's RoE are adequate to meet the threat; 4. To reduce/end the threat: diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine war www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Nato condemns Russia after drone hits Romanian residential block, injuring two

Romania says the Russian drone was likely hit over Ukraine by its air defences and altered its trajectory.

bbc.co.uk

Research consistently shows that green investments yield a higher job multiplier than military spending. Home insulation retrofits, public transit and installing solar or wind energy—spend less on expensive equipment (weapons) and more on direct, local labour www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

‘The potential is huge’: Plymouth hopes defence money will have it sailing again

Local leaders are optimistic investment and regeneration plans will help make ‘ocean city’ an appealing place to live

theguardian.com

Norway has been a strong proponent of humanitarian initiatives aimed at reducing global nuclear stockpiles. The decision to open talks to join France’s 'forward nuclear deterrence' entrenches the doctrine as a legitimate security measure and shifts policy away from disarmament goals. f24.my/Bx0d.BS

Norway becomes ninth country to come under French nuclear deterrence scheme

Norway on Wednesday became the ninth country to join the France-led nuclear deterrence scheme, the leaders of both countries said. President Emmanuel Macron announced in March that France – the only…

f24.my

The US has fired more than 1,000 Tomahawks at Iran and could take until late 2030 to fully rebuild that inventory, while Patriot and THAAD replenishment is estimated to wrap up in mid- to late 2029. The inventory crisis is forcing Washington to prioritise US stocks over weapon transfers to allies.

US will need years to replenish stockpiles of advanced weapons used in Iran war, new analysis finds

U.S. military contractors will need at least three years to replenish stockpiles of three key weapons systems used in the Iran war.

apnews.com

President Trump resembles the Grand Old Duke of York: marching 5,000 US troops up the hill to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Rubio tries to reassure Nato allies over US troop deployments

President Donald Trump says he wants to send more troops to Poland, a week after his officials cancelled a similar deployment.

bbc.co.uk

Guns vs. Butter? More like guns force-fed foie gras and caviar and sautéed in the world’s most expensive butter. tomdispatch.com/butter-and-s...?

Butter (and Schools), Not Guns (and Warfare)

Guns or butter. Butter or guns. Can we have both? If not, which should come first? Consider it one of those chicken-and-egg conundrums of modern society. “Guns” is the stand-in for a well-funded milit...

tomdispatch.com

America's Chief Warmonger Says the U.S. is "Checkmated" by Iran open.substack.com/pub/arnaudbe...

America's Chief Warmonger Says the U.S. is "Checkmated" by Iran

There’s no overstating how extraordinary this Atlantic article is, given the author and the outlet.

open.substack.com

Brazilian delegate at the NPT Review Conference: "the indefinite possession of nuclear weapons by a few cannot remain the organizing principle of international security" reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...