Paul Meyer

Carefully crafted arms control and disarmament mechanisms are rusting-out before us

The long-standing goal of preventing an arms race in outer space could be slipping away

Can Global Affairs Canada Transform Itself?

Without a comprehensive foreign policy strategy, it’s impossible to know

Civilians are increasingly the victims of cyber operations by state and non-state actors. They need better protection.

With the next session of a new UN working group on cyber activity around the corner, Paul Meyer reviews the state of the debate.

The United States is attempting to shift gears when it comes to nuclear disarmament. But, Paul Meyer writes, if it truly wishes to improve the international security environment, it should start by implementing its own existing commitments.

Paul Meyer reports from a recent conference in Washington, where the abandonment of restraints on the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia has policy experts worried.

A
fragile consensus over norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, as
Paul Meyer observes, has fallen victim to East–West geopolitical tensions.

Canada released a new national cyber security
strategy this month, but it pales in comparison to those produced by the UK and
Australia, argues Paul Meyer.

Following the recent NPT preparatory committee
meeting in Geneva, Paul Meyer asks if member states are avoiding the most
urgent questions around the fate of nuclear weapons.  

Eight years after publishing its first cyber strategy,
Canada has yet to develop a more comprehensive policy for guiding its cyber-related
activities abroad. Paul Meyer looks to a recently released strategy in Australia
for inspiration.

The adoption of a ban treaty will usher in a new, divided
nuclear order, with nuclear-armed states and their allies on one side and a
‘moral majority’ of states on the other. Where will Canada’s nuclear allegiances
lie?   

What a difference a year makes, writes Paul
Meyer, as he asks whether changes to the G7’s official statements signal a retreat from
disarmament goals. 

Following President-elect Donald Trump’s comments on
U.S. nuclear capabilities over the holidays, 2017 begins with worrisome
questions about his intentions.

Last week, a Canadian-led resolution on a treaty banning the production of the essential ingredient for making nuclear weapons was adopted at the UNGA by a wide margin. But as Paul Meyer writes, it remains to be seen whether the initiative will yield real progress on what has been a very stagnant file.

A recent report criticizing the United States’ approach to missile defence serves as a warning for countries considering collaboration on the system.

The upcoming visit may be a first, but if Obama is serious about disarmament, he will not shut the door on discussions with non-nuclear
weapon states.

Seven years ago, Obama
set high hopes for his plan to rid the world of nuclear weapons. With his
summits now over, he leaves a list of failures as his legacy on nuclear security.

Governance framework continues to lag behind the
growth of internet users. All
stakeholders will need to be active if a peaceful cyberspace is to be preserved,
argues Paul Meyer.

There is an urgent need for global rules around state conduct in cyberspace. But, building new norms is a slow and complicated process — is the UN up for the task?

The BRICS and U.S. positions on an outer space code of conduct are at odds, and Canada is walking a tightrope between them

Canada plays a key role in efforts to realize a treaty to ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons‎.

Arguing over a middle east conference obscured a more significant tension over who is leading the disarmament agenda.

From the review conference in New York, Paul Meyer outlines the treaty’s flaws. Can an ‘outcome’ document fix them?

While the deal is truly remarkable, there are key details to sort out, including how to proceed on sanctions relief. By Paul Meyer.

Netanyahu thinks the deal would pave Iran’s path to the bomb. But negotiations are the only way to avoid nuclear trip wires.

There are new options to overcome the impasse. By Paul Meyer.

The response to recent attack shows that work is needed for more international norms on states’ cyber policies, says Paul Meyer.

Paul Meyer considers the Australian model for amending national security legislation.

Paul Meyer on a new report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights about electronic surveillance.

The edifice of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty is under great strain. Unless serious remedial action is taken, its structural integrity may be fatally compromised, says Paul Meyer.

The nuclear security summit can’t agree on what is the greater threat: fissile material from which nuclear weapons can be fashioned or actual nuclear weapons. Paul Meyer on what that means for nuclear security.

Paul Meyer explains why arguments for nuclear disarmament are justified on humanitarian grounds.

Cyberspace issues are now being debated at the UN from both national security and human rights perspectives. Paul Meyer probes the scope and depth of the current discussion.

States are divided when it comes to talking about the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and that’s complicating non-proliferation discussions, argues Paul Meyer.

The Snowden revelations have only served to exacerbate the suspicions of states as to the intentions and capabilities of others in an environment that appears to be becoming rapidly militarized, argues Paul Meyer.

A diplomatic push for all countries to join and adhere to the Chemical Weapons Convention is the right response to the atrocities committed in Syria, argues Paul Meyer.

Paul Meyer on the latest recommendations for international cyber security cooperation.

Paul Meyer on the worrisome top secret U.S. presidential directive regarding offensive cyber operations abroad that was leaked to the Guardian.

Paul Meyer on what the failure to hold a conference on a WMD-free Middle East will mean for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Paul Meyer on why nuclear cyber rattling is unhelpful, if not dangerous.

Paul Meyer on why the European Union’s proposed International Code of Conduct for Outer Space is running low on diplomatic fuel.