Maxwell
Downman
Maxwell is a nuclear policy analyst for the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), a London-based independent think tank at the forefront of global initiatives on nuclear disarmament, arms control, and nonproliferation. He works primarily on the UK’s nuclear posture and Trident, NATO’s nuclear cooperation and transatlantic relations. Maxwell is also clerk for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Global Security and Non-Proliferation, a nonpartisan cross-party group of UK parliamentarians working on nuclear issues, and a regular contributor to the magazine Asian Affairs. Before joining BASIC, Maxwell worked for a number of years in the House of Lords and holds two master’s degrees in international studies and diplomacy and Japanese studies from SOAS and Edinburgh University respectively.
I am most excited to work on projects that… work across political divides to bring people together where cooperation previously seemed impossible.
I am looking for partners that can help me… think about disarmament and nonproliferation creatively and help me learn and apply new skills.
A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… when I first realized that the work we do today can make a better tomorrow.
Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… will require empathy and understanding for us to break out of current traps and through deadlocks.