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Latest Policy Briefs and Reports
Cooperative Security, Arms Control and Disarmament
Verifying the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and Providing Assurance against Breakout
Policy Brief No.1 - February, 2018 • By John Carlson
Effective verification will be absolutely essential to achieving nuclear disarmament. Developing effective verification may seem an impossible challenge, but there is substantial experience to build on, including IAEA safeguards and bilateral arms control processes. Examining the specific steps required to progress disarmament, we are not starting with a blank sheet, many verification missions are similar to those existing or under development today. International collaboration in developing new verification applications will contribute to the confidence and trust required to achieve the elimination of nuclear weapons.
Finding a Regional Process to Address the Primary Security Threats to the South Pacific due to Climate Change
Policy Brief No. - January, 2022 • By Ian Fry
This Policy Brief explores the nexus between climate change and security in the South Pacific and explores some key climate change-related trigger points that are driving security concerns in the Pacific. The combined effects of these trigger points are likely to drive displacement and forced migration away from Pacific Island countries. Regional security is further heightened by tensions between the US and China and their interests in protecting or exploiting fisheries resources in the region. Current regional organisations do not appear well placed to create an effective dialogue to resolve these climate change-related tensions, due to inherent biases. This Policy Brief explores the option of new collaborative arrangements between the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Pacific Small Island Development States (PSIDS) as a means of creating a higher political authority to consider the threats posed by climate change and the opportunities to address these threats.
Cooperative Security, Arms Control and Disarmament Peace and Security in Northeast Asia
Crashing Nuclear Submarines Through IAEA Safeguards
Policy Brief No. - January, 2022 • By Tariq Rauf
This Policy Brief focuses on important relevant issues and questions pertaining to the AUKUS plan to equip the Royal Australian Navy with nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs). The AUKUS states apparently have initiated non-transparent and secret discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency on how best to take advantage of a “grey area” or “loophole” in IAEA comprehensive safeguards to exclude weapon-grade highly-enriched uranium from Agency safeguards. China and the Russian Federation have launched diplomatic fusillades across the bow of the IAEA’s Board of Governors criticising the AUKUS plan for providing nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. However the Agency responds, now is the time to further strengthen the effectiveness and improve the efficiency of the IAEA safeguards system, not to weaken it and not drive a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines through it.
Social Media, Technology and Peacebuilding
Blueprint on Prosocial Tech Design Governance
Report No. - May, 2025 • By Lisa Schirch
This Blueprint on Prosocial Tech Design Governance lays out actionable recommendations for governments, civil society, researchers, and industry to design digital platforms that reduce harm and increase benefit to society. The Blueprint responds to the crisis in the scale and impact of digital platform harms. Digital platforms are fueling a systemic crisis by amplifying misinformation, harming mental health, eroding privacy, promoting polarization, exploiting children, and concentrating unaccountable power through manipulative design. Prosocial tech design governance is a framework for regulating digital platforms based on how their design choices—such as algorithms and interfaces—impact society. It shifts focus “upstream” to address the root causes of digital harms and the structural incentives influencing platform design.