BASIC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
A. Vinod Kumar is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), and a Visiting Faculty at the Institute of…
Alice Spilman is a Policy Fellow within the Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities and an ESRC-funded PhD student based in the University of Birmingham's Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security, commencing in September 2018. Her research interests include conceptions of nuclear responsibility and the possibility of empathy in conflict transformation. She completed an MSc in Global Cooperation and Security at the University of Birmingham in 2017, following a BA in Politics from Newcastle University.
Job Titles:
- Ambassador
- Member of the Board
Thomas is the Former Head of Disarmament Department in Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Former Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in Geneva.
Anahita Parsa is a Policy Fellow working on the Inclusive International Security programme. She also currently serves as the Clerk to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Global Security and Non-Proliferation. Previously, she was Programme Manager at the Middle East Treaty Organization, working on the establishment of a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East. Anahita was involved with the United Nations' UN75 initiative, coordinating and speaking at conferences on intercultural and intergenerational dialogues specifically related to peacebuilding, gender and disarmament. She was also Advocacy Manager of SCRAP Weapons.
Anahita focuses on nuclear diplomacy, disarmament, and the global nuclear order, with regional expertise on the Middle East. She is interested in the application of futures and foresight methods, and also exploring intersectional approaches (e.g. gender, decolonial thought) to practices of peacebuilding and diplomacy, and their implications for nuclear policymaking.
She has an MA in International Studies and Diplomacy, from the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of London, having previously completed her BA in Politics and International Relations at SOAS.
Languages: English, Farsi/Persian, Spanish
Angela Kane is a former United Nations diplomat with over 35 years of deep experience in political affairs, peacekeeping, disarmament, and management. She is a Professor at Schwarzman/Tsinghua University in Beijing and a Senior Adviser at the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington, working on catastrophic global risks. She is also Vice President of the International Institute for Peace in Vienna and Senior Fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. In 2022, she was appointed by Prime Minister Kishida of Japan as Member of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons.
Anne Penketh was BASIC Program Director in Washington from 2009 to 2012. Previously she was a staff journalist with major media…
Job Titles:
- Senior Editor With Sino - NK
Anthony V. Rinna is a Senior Editor with Sino-NK, a research organization dedicated to analyzing Northeast Asia. Formerly trained as an…
Chris Spedding is a Non-Resident Fellow at BASIC, having left his former role of Policy Fellow to set up Loop Works.
Chris is an independent scholar working at the intersection of nuclear weapons, civil nuclear applications, security, space, and technology policy. He is particularly interested in the ways in which technologies interact with society, and the downstream implications of that for security. He holds masters degrees in mechanical engineering, nuclear engineering, and is soon to finish his PhD in Nuclear Applications for Space. He has a wide range of experience, working for government and in the third sector, and leverages that experience to inform his approach to research, including futures and foresight. He has published in peer-reviewed journals, and for BASIC.
A respected growth marketing expert, Daniel Johnson excels at boosting startups and established firms. As a BASIC Board Member, he uses his diverse innovation and public relations skills to advance their mission: protecting humanity and the environment from nuclear and security threats and fostering a safer, more secure world.
Declan Penrose is a Policy Fellow at BASIC where he works on the Inclusive International Security Programme helping to run the Emerging Voices Network. Declan was previously the Online Coordinator at Youth for TPNW and part of their policy team. Declan holds a BA in Human Geography and International Politics, and an MA in International Politics from Aberystwyth University. He also has an MRes in Gender Studies from the University of Chester. Declan is currently doing a PhD at the University of Manchester.
Declan's primary interests are nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, feminist security studies, and postcolonial studies. Declan also has a keen interest in inclusivity, diplomacy, and the role of civil society in nuclear policy making and peacebuilding. Declan's PhD project analyses the affective economies of the UK nuclear disarmament movement.
Andrew Cottey is Jean Monnet Chair in European Political Integration at University College, Cork. He previously worked at the Dept of Peace Studies, University of Bradford; the EastWest Institute; Saferworld; and BASIC.
Job Titles:
- Policy Fellow and Programme Manager of the Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities
- Policy Fellow and Programme Manager, Nuclear Responsibilities / Nuclear Diplomacy Trust - Building Asia - Pacific
- Policy Fellow and Programme Manager, Nuclear Responsibilities Programme / Nuclear Diplomacy Trust - Building Asia - Pacific
Chiara is a Policy Fellow and Programme Manager of the Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities at BASIC. Chiara also collaborates with the BASIC's Programme on Risk Reduction in the Arctic.
Chiara's expertise includes nuclear diplomacy, trust-building practices, nuclear risk reduction, and crisis management and de-escalation practices, particularly in Southern Asia. Chiara's research focuses on security dynamics between nuclear-armed states in the Asia-Pacific, especially India-China and India-Pakistan relations, as well as Arctic security dynamics. Chiara has published in high impact journals and regularly writes policy briefs and reports on these topics.
Chiara has presented her work at policy forums such as the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), Wilton Park, and the Department of National Defence (DND) of Canada. Additionally, she has presented at conferences like ISODARCO, BISA, ISPP, and ECPR. In 2023, her paper "Exercising Status Recognition Sensibility: The Empathic De-escalation of the Sino-Indian 1998 Status Dilemma," published in International Relations, received the Best Paper Prize at the Italian Standing Group of International Relations (SGRI) Conference.
Chiara holds a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Birmingham. Her PhD focused on distrust reduction and crisis management in contemporary China-India relations. In addition, Chiara holds a first-class Master from the University of Bologna in International Security and a first-class degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Pisa.
Expertise:
- Trust and empathy in international politics
- China-India and India-Pakistan relations
- Nuclear policy in Southern Asia
- Third-party dialogue interventions
- Crisis prevention and management practices
- Nuclear Responsibilities
- Arctic security relations
Please note Chiara works remotely from Italy. If you'd like to invite her to a UK-based event, please contact her two weeks in advance.
Job Titles:
- Research Director
- Research Director / NATO
Dr Gry Thomasen is Research Director at BASIC (British American Security Information Council) and Programme Director of BASIC's programme on Risk Reduction. She is an expert in NATO, including NATO-Russia relations, nuclear non-proliferation and the Arctic and she leads BASIC's work in these areas.
Gry has published in high impact journals such as Marine Policy and International Journal, and she is the co-editor of The Palgrave Handbook of Non-State Actors in East-West Relations (forthcoming). She has also authored policy reports and policy briefs providing advice directly to governments.
Gry holds a PhD in Cold War history from the University of Copenhagen and was awarded a postdoc grant by the Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Ministry of Defence to undertake research into nuclear non-proliferation at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Prior to joining BASIC, she has also been Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Cold War History Research Centre in Budapest and a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Science and Security Studies, King's College, London.
Gry has been a delegated researcher for several white books on international security and Greenland, she has been consultant of draft bills on nuclear non-proliferation and export controls, and she has given evidence to standing committees in the Danish Parliament on international security and the Arctic. In addition, Gry has participated as an expert at IAEA conferences, EU Non-Proliferation Consortium and the NPT Review Conference.
Gry also holds an MA in History with Russian from University of Copenhagen and a BA in History and Russian from Moscow State University (MGU) and Copenhagen University.
Expertise:
NATO
Risk Reduction
Arctic
Non-proliferation
Job Titles:
- Independent Human Security and Arms Control Consultant, Writer and Founding Director
Dr Ian Davis is an independent human security and arms control consultant, writer and founding director of NATO Watch…
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder of the European Leadership Network
Dr Ian Kearns is the co-Founder of the European Leadership Network and serves on the ELN's Board of Directors. Dr Kearns served as…
Dr Lisa Vickers is a Policy Fellow at BASIC where she works in the Risk Reduction programme. Her research interests are in gendered and human security approaches to risk reduction and disarmament.
In addition to her role at BASIC, Lisa is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge. Since 2020, she has participated in UN Women activities as a National Gender Youth Activist. Additionally, Lisa is a Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Next Generation Ambassador. She has also contributed to several projects relating to gender and disarmament with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs.
Lisa holds a PhD in Multi-Disciplinary Gender Studies from the University of Cambridge. Her PhD thesis focused on the Women's Equality Party and its struggle to utilise its standing as a political party to ensure that women's interests are represented throughout the British political landscape and beyond. She has presented her research at academic conferences in Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
In addition, Lisa holds an MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge in Multi-Disciplinary Gender Studies. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut where she majored in History and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and minored in Human Rights.
Job Titles:
- Non - Resident Fellow / Non - Proliferation Nuclear South Asia International Security
Dr Rishi Paul was a Policy Fellow and Programme Manager at BASIC, managing the Programme on Nuclear Disarmament, as well as supporting the overall management and growth of the think tank. As part of Rishi's portfolio, Rishi also managed the Stepping Stones Project, which provides intellectual support to the Stockholm Initiative.
Rishi's research interests and expertise include deterrence dynamics in the context of evolving adversarial relationships, especially its effect upon the formation of nuclear strategy and escalation pathways. Rishi's current research is geared towards a critical examination of the thresholds for nuclear escalation and the role of nuclear off-ramps in managing risk reduction and averting nuclear use.
Rishi's pioneering work in this space is held in high regard; in late 2022, the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) awarded Rishi First Prize in its global security competition for developing an innovative plan designed to avert nuclear use in crisis and in war.
Rishi has published widely, addressed the NATO Defence College in Rome, provided media commentary for international news outlets and delivered written evidence to the House of Lords, Select Committee on International Relations, "Rising nuclear risk, disarmament and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
Rishi holds both an MA in Strategic Studies and a PhD from the University of Leeds. Whilst an academic researcher at the University of Leeds, his doctorate successfully examined the dynamics of U.S. nuclear strategy and the challenges posed by incorporating ballistic missile defence into strategic doctrine.
Expertise:
Nuclear deterrence dynamics
Nuclear thresholds and escalation control
Missile defence
Nuclear non-proliferation and arms control
US foreign and security policy
India and Pakistan's nuclear doctrine, posture and diplomacy
Stepping stones to disarmament and nuclear risk reduction
Togzhan is an expert on nuclear politics, WMD nonproliferation, strategic trade controls, sanctions implementation, and financial crime prevention. From 2011 to 2015 Kassenova served on the UN secretary general's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters.
Eva-Nour Repussard is a Policy Fellow at BASIC, where they work on the Nuclear Responsibilities programme. Prior to that, Eva-Nour was a Project and Research Assistant at SCRAP Weapons, co-coordinating the strategic stability project.
Job Titles:
- Operations and HR Manager / Operations
Falguni Patel is the Operations and HR Manager at BASIC. Although new to working for a nuclear policy organisation, Falguni has been able to bring her experience from the further and higher education sector to help shape the way BASIC functions under a growing team. Falguni is also a trained mental health first aider and is BASIC's point of contact for wellbeing matters.
Before working with BASIC, Falguni has led change at organisational level, has worked across project teams to deliver rapid improvement and organised and delivered large stakeholder events. Falguni holds a BSc degree in Business information Technology from Kingston University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Non - Executive Director
Helena is a Non-Executive Director with executive and board level experience and a specialist in organisational development and programme leadership. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and a Fellow of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management. She has worked within both blue chip PLCs and the public sector, including Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWM), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
James is an experienced Human Resources professional and currently is HR Director for Portland, a communications company. He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Job Titles:
- Chairman in European Political Integration at University College
Joanne Skolnick is an international lawyer, qualified in England and Wales, New York and Canada. She has worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York as well as in private practice. She also assists charities and non-profit organisations in the UK and US.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Founder and Editor of Inkstick
Laicie is the founder and editor of Inkstick and the host and executive producer of the PRX- and Inkstick-produced podcast, Things That Go Boom. She is also a Partner with the Truman National Security Project.
Laura Rose Brown is a Policy Fellow at BASIC and PhD student at the University of Leeds. As part of an ESRC funded collaborative studentship, Laura Rose is conducting PhD research on gender and nuclear weapons. Her research traces the increased focus on gender in nuclear weapons policy to identify the goals and effects of these efforts. Through her continued work with BASIC, Laura Rose is working to develop policy oriented outputs related to her scholarly research into the intersection of gender and nuclear weapons.
Laura Rose's most recent peer-reviewed publication explores what ‘gender-sensitivity' means in relation to nuclear weapons policy. The article published by International Affairs is available here.
Before joining BASIC as Policy Fellow, Laura Rose was an intern at BASIC within our programmes on Gender, Youth and Diversity and Nuclear Responsibilities. She holds an MA in International Security with cum laude honours (Sciences Po Paris), an MA in Social Research with distinction (University of Leeds) and a BA in Political Science (Sciences Po Paris).
Mhairi is a Policy Fellow at BASIC where she works on the BASIC-ICCS Nuclear Responsibilities Programme. She also works with BASIC's project on Risk Reduction in the Arctic. Mhairi's research interests include nuclear diplomacy, conflict resolution and exploring the impacts of nuclear weapons from humanitarian and gender perspectives.
Job Titles:
- Acting Manager of BASIC 's Emerging Voices Network
- Communications Manager / Communications
- Programme & Communications Manager / Communications
Michelle is Acting Manager of BASIC's Emerging Voices Network for young nuclear leaders and oversees the development and delivery of the EVN's annual programme of activities, which includes policy cycles, training workshops, and networking events.
Michelle is also BASIC Communications, responsible for developing and implementing strategies to promote BASIC's mission, goals, and initiatives. Working across all BASIC programmes, Michelle communicates activities and successes on its social media platforms, website, and newsletters. She is also the primary point of contact for all communications enquiries, including those from the media.
Before joining BASIC, Michelle accrued over 20 years of experience creating and delivering high-profile communications and engagement campaigns across academia, government and industry. She joined us from the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, where she led its communications and events programme for over three years. Other previous roles include working with the National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCHQ) and the Cabinet Office to deliver a transatlantic training and competition programme for university students to help develop the next generation of cyber defenders, and partnership programmes at the Royal Society of Chemistry and Reed Travel Exhibitions.
Job Titles:
- Professor of International Relations and Former Director of the Institute for Conflict
Nicholas J. Wheeler is Non-Resident Senior Fellow at BASIC and a Professor of International Relations and former Director of the Institute for Conflict, Cooperation, and Security at the University of Birmingham.
His publications include (with Ken Booth) The Security Dilemma: Fear, Cooperation, and Trust in World Politics (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) and Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). His new book Trusting Enemies: Interpersonal Relationships in International Conflict was published by Oxford University Press in March 2018. His book Saving Strangers has 2,229 Google Scholar Citations (his total number of citations is 6,961). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in the United Kingdom, a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and has had an entry in Who's Who since 2011. In his career, he has supervised to successful completion twenty-six PhDs. He co-edits with Professors Christian Reus-Smit and Evelyn Goh the Cambridge Series in International Relations, one of the most prestigious book series in the field of International Relations.
Nick researches and teaches in the areas of international relations and international security at the University of York. His particular…
Nina Sofie Pedersen is a Researcher at BASIC. Her current responsibilities include researching and developing the Programme on…
Norman Moss is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He was born in London in 1928 but was raised and educated partly in New York.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of the Charity & Security Network
As the Director of the Charity & Security Network, Paul Carroll is responsible for overall organisational management of the network, its staff, and strategy setting with respect to its issues and policy advocacy. He spent seventeen years at the Ploughshares Fund, a public foundation that works to eliminate the risks from nuclear weapons. More recently, Paul served as the Director of Nuclear Security Partnerships at N Square, a funders collaborative that seeks to foster innovation and collaboration into the nuclear security sector.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Board
- Chartered Accountant and Vice President for Corporate Strategy at the Royal Bank of Scotland
Peter is a Chartered Accountant and Vice President for Corporate Strategy at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Rachel Staley Grant joined NTI in August 2016 and serves as the Director of Public Education. Between 2011 and 2016, Staley Grant…
Rebecca Cousins was BASIC's Programme Director for the Next Gen project. Prior to that, she was a diplomat in the British Foreign and…
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Resident
- Non - Resident Fellow / Human Security Dialogue Geopolitics
Richard Reeve is Non-Resident Fellow at BASIC and has been Coordinator of Rethinking Security, a network of UK-based NGOs, academics, practitioners and activists working to reframe UK security narratives and policy, since October 2019. BASIC and Rethinking Security work together on the project ‘Turning Point: Realising a Sustainable Security Architecture in Europe', which works with states and experts across Europe to create a model for security that addresses the interconnectedness of climate change, conflict and human security.
Richard's work is at the interface of peacebuilding, strategic studies and environmentalism. For the last decade his research and advocacy has focused primarily on UK defence and security policy, including military posture and presence, military expenditure, and climate security. Currently, he leads the Alternative Security Review project to produce a Human Security Strategy to guide and inspire future UK policy-making.
From 2013 to 2019, he worked with Oxford Research Group as its Coordinator and Chief Executive, directing its Sustainable Security Programme, and developing its strategic peacebuilding work with partners in Yemen, Palestine and Israel. Previously, he worked with international peacebuilding organisations managing research into security, justice and governance in countries including Georgia, Liberia, Nepal and South Sudan.
As an Africa-focused conflict researcher, he has also been a fellow of Chatham House Africa Programme and King's College London's War Studies department, and an editor and analyst with Jane's Information Group and other risk consultancies. He has worked with the African Union, ECOWAS, the Arab League, the European Union and the OSCE, including as an election observer in five Eurasian countries.
He has various degrees from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (International and Comparative Law), London School of Economics (LSE) (International Relations) and the University of Edinburgh (History; Politics), none of which is a PhD.
Sebastian Brixey-Williams is the Executive Director of BASIC, a Fellow at the Harvard Belfer Center's Managing the Atom Program, and an Honorary Research Associate at the School of Government at the University of Birmingham.
Sebastian's research and practice centres around how to ensure that nuclear-armed states manage their nuclear weapons in as legal, morally responsible, and transparent manner as possible while advancing multilateral efforts towards a more sustainable global security system that does not rely on nuclear deterrence. His research at Harvard (2024-2025) uses a foresight methodology to examine the evolution of international law into the near future and its possible impact on states' nuclear targeting policies.
Sebastian regularly advises world-leading forums for discussion on nuclear weapons policy and diplomacy, including the P5/N5 Process, the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, and three All-Party Parliamentary Groups in the British Parliament. Since 2023, he has served as one of three British delegates to the Expert Level Track to the P5/N5 Process. He is regularly invited to speak at universities, most recently by Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford.
Outside of work, Sebastian is a multi-instrumentalist who has been known to dabble with pianos, guitars, fiddles, accordions, synthesisers, and music production.
Stuart Casey-Maslen is Extraordinary Professor of International Law at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He researches and teaches disarmament law, international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. He holds a doctorate in international humanitarian law and master's degrees in international human rights law and in forensic ballistics.
Tabitha Sanders is one of the organisers of #NatSecGirlSquad, a US initiative to support women working in National Security. She was a…
Job Titles:
- Independent Arms Control and Disarmament Consultant
Ted Seay is an independent arms control and disarmament consultant currently based in London. He was assigned to the U.S. Mission to…
Job Titles:
- Ward Wilson Senior Fellow Ward Wilson Was Senior Fellow and Director of the Rethinking Nuclear