Ramadan begins on Tuesday, the holiest month for Islam. It comes a week after the President of Egypt was arrested and removed from office by the military, a move in response to massive demonstrations across the country against Mr. Morsi’s brief term in office. One of the principal complaints against Mr. Morsi (whatever the truth of it) was his use of power to promote the interests of his supporters rather than all Egyptians. While we are witnessing ever-more violent clashes on the streets of Cairo, and Egyptians now contemplate their next moves in the long and faltering steps towards democracy, few are now thinking much about the regional efforts to establish a process with the objective of creating a zone free of WMD.

BASIC senior consultant Ted Seay explores the institutional history of NATO’s theater nuclear weapons (TNW) and explains why in recent years the Alliance has been slow to move forward with changes that could further reduce this arsenal.

The United Nations General Assembly First Committee opens today in New York, the UN forum for disarmament and international security affairs. Its month-long session contains an ambitious program of work, including discussion on nuclear weapons and other WMDs, in the weaponisation of space, conventional weapons, regional disarmament and security, and disarmament machinery (conventions and treaties).