Can the Gaza peace plan work? My evaluation of it: dansmithsblog.com/2025/10/03/e...

For political leaders, the rush of events gets in the way of strategic vision. And getting in the way of responding to events - or at least just complicating things - are five major, simultaneous, global hinge points we now face.

Not that government of Israel will listen or read carefully but others must including European governments:

My newe chapter: dansmithconsulting.online

Change for me, change for SIPRI: dansmithsblog.com/2025/08/17/c...

European leaders have failed badly over the Israel/US strikes on Iran. @sipri.org colleagues address the problem of an apparent acceptance of violations of international law.

The BIG 5 per cent increase in NATO spending. A political signal with multiple impacts on international politics, prospects for peace, the economy, government finances, you name it. @sipri.org colleagues have run the figures and here's what they do (and don't) mean:

Governments of Somalia & UK have set up a High-Level Panel on Social Protection in Fragile & Conflict-Affected Settings. We need your input. Seven questions - up to you which ones you answer – at staar.socialprotection.org/high-level-p...

Excellent analysis of the trajectory of the relationship between North Korea and Russia by my @sipri.org colleague, Fei Su: www.apln.network/analysis/com...

Former Israel PM Ehud Olmert in Harretz this week: "What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: the indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians... Yes, Israel is committing war crimes." Incredibly important. First crack in the dam? www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...

Oh, look, 50-plus years on, a "secret plan to end the war".

In a recent interview with @franciscocarrion.bsky.social (El Independiente), #SIPRI Director @dansmith1.bsky.social warns about the state of the world, highlighting nuclear tensions, climate challenges, and emerging technologies as critical threats. Read the full interview ⬇️ bit.ly/3DK7lAx

Use 'em or lose 'em is not a principle any sane person should want to see applied to nuclear weapons. But who said, "I like to believe that people, in the long run, are going to do more to promote peace than our governments"?

Thank you @HughMuir(despite being seemingly BlueSky absent) for this. The question is, does the Tory press hate Sadiq Khan more because of his religion and ethnicity, or because he has succeeded in reducing air pollution in London? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Every year the same magic. Five days in the west Swedish countryside. Five morning walks. Day 1 (27 Dec), high viz clothing essential. Same time on Day 5, not needed. Beauty of a few minutes more daylight each day.

#peace #climatejustice #endwars #humanitarian #worldpeace #love #health #sustainability #climate #nonukes #disarmament

#SIPRI Director @dansmith1.bsky.social recently spoke with NHK World News about the pressing challenges of nuclear proliferation and shared insights on Nihon Hidankyo receiving the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. Watch the full interview here: www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...

My thoughts on why Trump is such a polarizing figure – loved by some, loathed by others – dressed up as an enquiry into the non-singular systemic in my latest blog post: dansmithsblog.com/2024/11/25/t...

The implications of this headline in the NYT are not pleasant.

It’s the cold hard awakening for some of us. Too many others seem to be sleepwalking.

The River Desna in Ukraine: “More than 650km is polluted. Not a single organism survived. .. It’s Europe’s first completely dead river.” Officials say a poisonous slick came across the Russian border and down a tributary river. If so, it's #ecocide

The world order is in shaky condition and there is no consensus on how to fix it. Maybe we need to think about what to do when consensus is lacking. My thoughts on that in the last in a series of posts on world order.

Climate change, ecological crisis, trade, cyberspace, the risk of another pandemic: the mutual interest in greater international cooperation is so clear that it is inevitable. Optimism against the odds in my latest blog post:

With the world order in bad shape, how do we respond to the ecological crisis? More thoughts in my series on the shakiness of world order today:

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 79 years ago this week. One nuclear bomb dropped on each city killed between 150,000 and 260,000 people. Never forget. Let that be the last time nuclear weapons are used in war.

As world order malfunctions, declining respect for norms and laws is a big part of the problem. However flawed, they protect people from powerful predators. My thoughts, number 5 in a series on world order (3 to go):

On current trends, four times as many people will die in war in the 2020s as in the first decade of this century. Thoughts on impact of global disharmony & what Gaza's destruction shows about why it's so hard to manage conflicts in my latest post on World (Dis)Order:

In my series on World Order, the latest entry is on NATO's growth. and the argument that Russia and NATO critics make that this is part of the reason for the war in Ukraine. It's a digression from the main theme of series so I have numbered it 3a.

The third in my series of posts on the world order – what's wrong with it, what's right, how it works and doesn't – focusses on armed conflicts. Why isn't international conflict management and resolution working?

I have started a series of posts on world order – what's wrong with it, what's right, what's changing, what's not... Number two is on the European origins of today's world order and the precarious balance between power and legitimacy.

In this episode of Peace Points, SIPRI Director @dansmith1.bsky.social takes stock of the world in early 2024, looking at the challenges facing the world system and the opportunities for cooperation.    Watch the full video📺 ⬇️

Troubled times, new combinations of challenges to peace, well-being and security. How do we think through the problems and the possible ways of handling them? My view: 360 degree approach to security to combine national, human and ecological spheres. Summarised in my latest blog post: bit.ly/448ReFH

My views on where we stand in uncertain, insecure but not hopeless world

I agree. It's not good. "Inevitable" does not mean right. I wish I could see change coming in attitudes and policy in US and Russia, likewise China, and even France and UK – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

How does the world system look today? My thoughts (in brief, not good but not all as bad as it might seem at first look)

It's not easy to talk about peace and disarmament these days. "The worries of a peace researcher"

SIPRI brings #peace into focus at the World Economic Forum. Read more  ➡️ www.sipri.org/media/2024/s...

NewSpace is changing the nature of the space industry, exacerbating missile proliferation risks and challenging the effective implementation of export controls. Explore good practices in export control outreach to address these risks ➡️ doi.org/10.55163/BQA...

🗓️Save the Date—The 2024 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development will convene on 6–8 May 2024 at Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm. This year’s Forum will explore today’s complex security landscape and possible pathways towards a more peaceful, unified future➡️ bit.ly/3GyvAQl

What are possibilities and challenges of artificial intelligence for climate security? This SIPRI and Mistra Geopolitics Policy Report outlines the opportunities that AI presents for managing climate-related security risks. Read more ➡️ doi.org/10.55163/QDS...

SIPRI is pleased to launch a new SIPRI Conversation video featuring Dr Tytti Erästö and Nivedita Raju, who explain why real and perceived threats to space systems could serve as catalysts for nuclear escalation.    Watch the video here ⬇️  youtu.be/015XMDD75xc

Climate change is profoundly affecting the day-to-day work of peace operations. SIPRI’s Dr Farah Hegazi explains in this blog why more funding is needed for training that can help mission personnel to understand and manage climate-related security risks ➡️ bit.ly/45o5t8p

This topical backgrounder by Kolja Brockmann and Dr Markus Schiller seeks to create a better understanding of current trends in small and micro launchers and how they contribute to missile proliferation risks. Read more➡️ bit.ly/40YVd6b