This collection of papers follows the multidisciplinary workshop Effects of a Nuclear War: Bridging Science, Policy, and Global Risk Governance, convened in Stockholm on 12 June 2026 by Pugwash, the Finnish Pugwash Group, and the SCRAP Weapons Project at SOAS University of London. Held at a time of renewed concern over nuclear risks and the increasing militarization in the European security environment, the one-day event brought together natural and political scientists, legal experts, civil society and policymakers to examine the spectrum of effects of nuclear weapons use, with particular focus on the Nordic context.
The papers in this collection build on these discussions from interdisciplinary and regional perspectives. As international efforts, including the work of the United Nations Independent Scientific Panel on the Effects of Nuclear War, update the scientific assessment of nuclear war’s consequences, there is a parallel need to ensure that this knowledge informs policy deliberations and risk-reduction efforts. This collection is offered as a contribution to that endeavour: strengthening the connection between science and policy, encouraging interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogue, and supporting more comprehensive approaches to nuclear risk governance.
Pugw
ash-Carnegie Brief: Effects of a Nuclear War
Table of Contents
Editors’ note: Bridging Science, Policy, and Global Risk Governance
Katariina Simonen and Monalisa Hazarika
Environmental and Human Nuclear Winter Risks in the Nordic Context
Cheryl Harrison and William Faulkner
Irreversible Consequences of Nuclear Weapon Testing
Robert A. Jacobs
The Non-Nuclear Path to Nuclear War
Dan Plesch and Manuel Galileo
The Lungs Of Europe On The Nato-Russia Border
Tarja Cronberg
The Pugwash-Carnegie Briefs on Science and World Affairs are commissioned and published by the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. The series provides concise, evidence-based insights on issues at the intersection of science and international politics, supporting informed decisionmaking by policymakers, stakeholders, and the public. Pugwash is proud to partner with the the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, a major donor to Pugwash activities for over two decades and express our deep gratitude for their support to the field of international peace and security. The Briefs series and the views expressed therein should in no way be represented as those of the Foundation and its staff.