The World Today: Summer 2025: NATO is under threat – can it be saved?

America’s ambivalence and Russia’s aggression are testing the alliance as never before. We asked diplomats, defence experts and senior military figures what might be done to secure NATO at its crucial Hague summit – and beyond.

Interview: The EU’s first Commissioner for Defence discusses the urgency of learning from Ukraine’s military innovations and the ‘challenge’ of working with Europe’s defence industry.

President Trump’s ambivalence about the alliance’s all-important Article 5 may increase European defence budgets, but could have unintended consequences at home, warns Andrew Dorman.

Britain’s nuclear capability depends on the US and France reserves its for national defence. How might they cooperate to bolster NATO’s ultimate ability to defend itself?

Allies are less certain of the US’s ‘extended deterrence’ and some are pondering their own options. Ankit Panda explains the escalating dangers of a ‘third nuclear age’ – and how they might be avoided.

By integrating the technology into early warning systems, artificial intelligence could help prevent nuclear escalation – but only if the risks are better understood, warns Marion Messmer.

Fiona Bowler tells of the health problems faced by her grandfather and other servicemen who were exposed to radiation on Christmas Island, and their struggle for compensation.

Eighty years after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we republish part of The World Today’s response to the first – and so far, only – use of nuclear weaponry in warfare.

Among the many stories in the summer issue of ‘The World Today’, we explore NATO’s moment of reckoning at the Hague summit and ask if Europe can step up defence spending amid America’s continued global retreat.

Ahead of Chatham House’s London Conference, director Bronwen Maddox writes that a major theme will be how countries are adapting to the shifting global roles of the United States and China.

Residents of Estonia’s border city have strong but complicated ties to their Russian neighbours. Photojournalist Mario Heller meets some of them to discuss identity, language and Russian expansion.

A tougher, more joined-up approach to foreign aid is needed so that left-behind communities in donor countries also feel its benefit, argues Justine Greening.

Almost a million of Russia’s brightest have fled home since 2022. Ekaterina Sachkova spoke to some of them about the dilemmas and distrust they face – and why the West might be missing an opportunity.

Washington and its allies want to deepen ties with New Delhi, but first they must realize how much India depends on and shares with China, writes Chietigj Bajpaee.

With press freedom in peril and disinformation on the rise, now is the moment to secure funding for the BBC World Service, writes its director Jonathan Munro.

After a devastating war with Israel, Hezbollah is weakened and under pressure to disarm. Hugo Bachega visits communities in Lebanon’s south to ask what comes next for the embattled group.

Hosting world leaders in Alberta will be the first big test for Canada’s new prime minister. But will he confront the US president or play peacemaker, asks Iona Allan.

From the US to Hungary, from Iraq to Ghana, new erosions of minority rights are a warning of democratic backsliding. To fight back this Pride month, new alliances must be formed, says Ari Shaw.

The outgoing director of Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme reflects on Russia’s anti-democratic history, paying attention to its neighbours and his 25 years of service.

A potted selection of reviews from our sister journal ‘International Affairs’, by its book reviews editor Mariana Vieira.

Interview: Ahmed Soliman tells Sara Seth how the United Arab Emirates and other regional powers are benefitting from Sudan’s illicit, cross-border gold trade and how that might be stopped.