Global Challenges
NATO's Agenda
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is one of the most important and visible pillars of the transatlantic partnership. Atlantic-community.org's web module "NATO's Agenda" is designed to connect Atlantic Community members to NATO decision makers and encourage constructive debate on the issues facing the Alliance.
"NATO's Agenda" features articles, speeches, and videos spotlighting the activities of the Alliance, including content from NATO sources and analyses from Atlantic Community members. It is also the hub for atlantic-community.org's Question and Answer sessions with NATO officials. Read and watch the opening statements, questions and answers from the Q&As in 2012:
- Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary General, on NATO's agenda after the Chicago Summit: Answers and opening video statement.
- Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, on Women, Peace and Security: Answers and opening video statement.
- James Appathurai, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, on the partnerships and regional initiatives: Call for questions, video answers on global partnerships and the Arab Spring, on partnerships with Asia, on Central Asia and the Caucasus, and on the NATO mission.
- Adrian Kendry, Senior Defense Economist, on security despite austerity: Opening video statement, answers part 1 and part 2.
You can contribute to the debate by submitting your own op-eds and commenting on other articles. The best ideas and debates are condensed into Atlantic Memos and sent to policymakers in Europe and North America.
Photo Courtesy NATO Photos
Editorial Team: Adrian Kendry responds to member questions about NATO capabilities, specialization, and other aspects of smart defense. He also explains NATO’s commitment to energy efficiency and talks about resource wars and terrorist financing. …More
Editorial Team: Adrian Kendry has answered questions from atlantic-community.org members about the security implications of the financial and economic crises. In the first part, he talks about potential threats to the stability of the Alliance, terrorist recruitment and defense spending levels. …More
NATO has to remain a special instrument of the trans-Atlantic relationship. ++ The return of France to integrated command, however, must not affect the independence of its foreign policy. ++ Events like the Libya crisis have …More
William C. Fleeson: President Obama won a second term one month ago this week. Transatlantic security experts have predicted everything from the dismal to the miraculous. Here’s a cautiously pessimistic assessment of what the next four years could hold for defense in the Atlantic sphere. …More
NATO: For many of the soldiers injured in Afghanistan their war is over, some of them will make a full recovery while others require round-the-clock care. The dedicated team of staff and volunteers at the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility, or CASF, work tirelessly to make sure these soldiers return to their families. …More
Alyson JK Bailes: Logically, one of the best ways to get more bang for fewer bucks - while also deepening cooperation - should be for nations to specialize further in their defence roles on a basis of comparative advantage. Yet there are many obstacles. …More
Stewart Rowles: All I see is a country using NATO to get to the Golden Goose of the EU. What benefits are there for NATO when the majority of the FYROM’s Slav population detests NATO for kicking the fellow Slavic Serbs out and bringing the ethnic Albanians power in neighboring Kosovo? …More
Editorial Team: Adrian Kendry is NATO’s Senior Defense Economist and works in the Emerging Security Challenges Division. In our latest Q&A, he takes your questions on the interaction of economic and security challenges. Watch his opening statement. …More
Jahja Esli & Boneva Boyka: NATO’s Open Door Policy was reaffirmed at the last Chicago Summit. However, its doors remain firmly closed for Macedonia which has been aspiring membership since 1999 and continues to contribute more than its fair share to missions. Fearing another regional conflict imported into the Alliance, NATO remains vague on any commitment to accession. …More
Editorial Team: Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović has answered ten questions from atlantic-community.org members and friends. Read her responses on NATO policy on women’s rights, UN resolution 1325, Afghanistan, Arab spring, and the Balkans. …More
Abstract provided by RAND: “In the coming decade, NATO faces growing fiscal austerity and
declining defense budgets. This study analyzes the impact of planned defense
budget cuts on the capabilities of seven European members of NATO - …More
NATO: 19 NATO and partner nations enhanced their interoperability at the US Army Europe’s training event “Sabre Junction 2012” in Grafenwoehr, Germany. 6,000 personnel and hundreds of military aircraft and vehicles participated in the month-long exercise. It was the largest of its kind in Germany since the end of the Cold War. …More
Balazs Martonffy: The nuclear submarine fleets of Britain and France are in need of replacement. Both countries and their defense industries should build a single co-produced platform. This “Eurosubmarine” might initially be designed to fully replace each nation’s fleet in an economical way, but could eventually lead to a joint European nuclear deterrent. …More
Editorial Team: In celebration of the 12th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, atlantic-community.org invites you to participate in our next Q&A session with NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. She will be answering questions on “Women, Peace and Security”. …More
After returning from Afghanistan, NATO’s Secretary General Rasmussen stated that Afghans are prepared to take the lead in providing their own security by the end of 2014. ++ The process of transferring security responsibility is …More
NATO: Bombs and bullets are not the only danger faced by soldiers in the field. There is also the threat of infectious diseases and bioterrorist attacks. In an example of smart defense, NATO is working on building up a multinational system that identifies and tracks not only bioattacks but also naturally occurring maladies. …More
Tabish Shah: The on-going conflict in Syria, the anti-American nature of protests in the Middle East, increased Green on Blue attacks, among other issues has created a new set of geopolitical challenges. Could these challenges be better pre-empted by channelling smart defence through a more robust Germany-Turkey-United States partnership in order to advance NATO states’ collective interests? …More
NATO Review: The world looks to have won a brief reprieve from a food security crisis, with grain prices stabilizing in the last few months of 2012 after a mid-year surge that brought back memories of the 2007-08 food riots. Geoff Hiscock looks at how enough food production and water usage for everyone is attainable. …More
Shafiq Hamdam: The increasing number of insider attacks have been a serious issue for the coalition forces in Afghanistan. However, there are a number of reasons behind these attacks, which are known as green on blue. The issue of cultural sensitivity is one of those major elements. …More
Yasser Abumuailek: Despite its re-conception after the fall of Communism to adapt to the new challenges of an ever-changing world, NATO is facing a new challenge it must master before it’s too late: winning the hearts and minds on the social media front. …More
Editorial Team: Ambassador Alexander Vershbow has answered your questions! Read his responses on a range of topics covering NATO’s post-summit agenda, including Afghanistan, the conflict in Syria, relations with Russia, the operation in Libya, Smart Defense, missile defense, and NATO’s role in the Caucasus. …More
Valentina M. Gevorgyan: At the recent Chicago Summit, NATO made sure to prioritize partnerships on its agenda. The South Caucasus region is one that can greatly benefit from NATO partnership, especially where security and justice are concerned. NATO’s efforts in the region should aim at resolving frozen conflicts, including the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. …More
NATO: On 6 and 7 September NATO’s Secretary General visited the South Caucasus – a region that is strategically important to the Alliance. NATO has been progressively deepening dialogue and cooperation with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia since the early 1990s. …More
Rusudan Vashakidze: What should Georgia expect from its relationship with Russia even if the West gets nothing but aggressive energy policy and a disregard for international law? Four years after the August War in 2008 the road to the West for the young democratic country remains dynamic and filled with geopolitical struggles. …More
As we reach the eleventh year since the September 11 attacks, the debate over the relevancy of al-Qaeda’s core leadership known as Central al-Qaeda still lingers between officials, analysts, and academics. Following the uprisings that …More
Editorial Team: Atlantic-community.org invites you to participate in our next Q&A session with Alexander Vershbow, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO. Ambassador Vershbow is set to take your questions on NATO policy after the Chicago summit. His answers will be posted on atlantic-community.org for members to comment. …More
Stanley R. Sloan: The American Euro-fatigue combined with a perception in Europe that Washington is losing interest in its affairs might mark the beginning of the end of transatlantic relations. Ignoring the significance in improving closer ties will only help to jeopardize European and American interests. …More
John Taylor: Although over 20 years have passed since the end of the Cold War, tensions between Russia and the West continue to exist. The West needs a new approach that takes into account Russia’s own foreign policy perspective and shows an understanding of its domestic challenges. …More
Daria Wiktoria Dylla: Romney has attacked current US security policy for a missile defense plan unfavorable to NATO allies in Central Europe. Especially Poland may be in a vulnerable position without the external security balance provided by the US, but the removal of troops will be compensated for by the positioning of missiles. Thus, Poland has nothing to worry about. …More
Karsten Voigt: Fifteen frequently asked questions Germans often have about political and social developments in the US and fifteen answers from the former Coordinator for German-American Cooperation in the German Foreign Office.
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Joerg Wolf: German experts assess the NATO Summit in Chicago as “partly successful”. The resolutions relating to Afghanistan barely shifted their opinions. The Alliance only demonstrated to some extent that it had strengthened international partnerships. The think tankers, academics, and journalists surveyed by Atlantic Initiative were especially skeptical of the Smart Defense initiative, with which the Alliance wants to promote efficient defense spending. …More
Georgi Ivanov: Europe’s first Model NATO Youth Summit gathered at NATO headquarters in Brussels for six days of policy debate. Was it everything participants hoped it would be? Here is a firsthand look at the summit. …More
Rhys Ashvin Merrett: Recent activity by the EU High Representative and Secretary General of NATO reflect the surge of interest in the Asia-Pacific. However, the extent of NATO and EU strategic involvement in the region is dependent upon a group of 21 European states that are members of both institutions. …More
In the 20th century, even in the face of wars and the collapse of the entire European state, the West dominated. Today, with over 200 countries in existence and each with a voice, usually in some sort of organization, it is easy to say the …More
NATO: During the Lisbon Summit in 2010, Alliance leaders agreed they wanted a leaner NATO Command Structure that is more affordable and more deployable on operations. The new structure represents a significant reduction in the number of military headquarters and a manpower savings of about 30 percent. …More
Shalva Dzidziguri: Russia’s relationship with the West has never been easy. With the end of Cold War-era animosity, Russia has continuously sought reassurance that its Soviet-inherited geopolitical interests are protected. Ironically, EU policy might be helping Russia realize its potential in the region. …More
Among all the countries involved in the Syrian “cauldron”, Turkey’s agenda is the hardest to discern. ++ Both committing itself to regime change and sponsoring an armed group for the first time in a neighboring country, Turkey is taking a …More
Matteo Scianna: Germany should use her armament export policy as a means of “smart power”. Selling tanks to Saudi Arabia would help foster a strategic partnership. Pursuing a comprehensive approach with European and NATO partners in arms sales would assure continued influence in key regions. …More
NATO: In Ørland, Norway, 17 nations took part in the two-week Unified Vision trial. The objective was to train NATO member countries to work together in the framework of NATO’s Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) concept. The event was organised by the JISR Capability Group and NATO’s defence against terrorism programme. …More
Editorial Team: Our 2012 policy workshop competition featured many fantastic articles from our members, produced great Atlantic Memos and received enthusiastic feedback from decision makers! Editor-in-Chief Joerg Wolf takes a look back at the five months of “Your Ideas, Your NATO” in this new video. …More
Brianna Marie MacGillivray: The United States and India need each other considering that both countries have significant stakes in the future of the Asia-Pacific region. However, the two nations have not allowed their relationship to reach its full potential. There is much to be gained from warmer relations. …More
Henri Erti: NATO membership for Estonia can be beneficial if future tangible opportunities and probabilities of external aggression are regarded as priorities.
…More
The Euro crisis has been all consuming; German politicians have put all other policy priorities to the side. However, two members of the German parliament have stepped forward into this policy vacuum, and therefore their ideas are …More
Atlantic Insights 2 + 3: You can download for free two new eBooks based on our Iran theme week and other atlantic-community.org member articles selected by the editorial team. Enjoy stimulating summer reading on your eReader or a PDF printout. …More
Steffen Buenau: To effectively support the ongoing transformation within Russia, Europe should put to use its most effective “soft power” tool: a relaxation of visa regulations. Such an approach is not only effective with regard to domestic transformation but will also help restore credibility in an area where Russian co-operation is crucial, namely, Syria. …More
Tabish Shah: The consequences of the Russian energy monopoly in Central Asia are not simply limited to the region or its energy supplies; they have the potential to impact upon the geo-strategic balance of the world. …More
NATO: On the International Day of the Seafarer, June 22, the International Maritime Organization and the project “Oceans Beyond Piracy” released a new report called “The Human Cost of Somali Piracy” which highlights the plight of hostages. …More
Georgi Ivanov: The first annual 2012 Model NATO Youth Summit will take place July 8-13 in Brussels. This event offers students a unique chance to learn first-hand about how NATO operates since it simulates the actual decision-making process. The summit should also produce innovative ideas to help the Alliance in the future. …More
Andrew Walker: NATO hopes to have its anti-ballistic missile defense in place by 2018. Any future system will bring with it high financial and diplomatic costs. The question is whether NATO wishes to actually pay those costs for a system that is still unproven and will never be 100% effective. …More
NATO: How can we achieve a more perfect alliance? Ambassador Zygimantas Pavilionis of Lithuania tries to answer this question and talks about how his experience influences his view of NATO as an organization protecting freedom and democracy, as part of a video series from the National Defense University’s Center for Transatlantic Security Studies. …More
Sean Lobo: This thesis seeks to identify and map out different institutional logics of what is perceived as appropriate by key personnel affiliated with the Centers of Excellence concept, and to analyze the concept’s roles and rationale, especially with regard to the overall transformation of NATO. …More
NATO Review: Smart defense is a concept that encourages Allies to cooperate in developing, acquiring and maintaining military capabilities to meet current security problems in accordance with the new NATO strategic concept. Therefore, NATO smart defense means pooling and sharing capabilities, setting priorities and coordinating efforts better. …More
Ramin Daniel Rezai: The international community is under immense pressure to deal with Syria, as al-Assad and his regime continue to use brute force against their citizens. Because diplomacy and sanctions have yet to show success, the best guarantee to stopping the loss of life is a legitimate, but illegal armed intervention in Syria. …More
Tabish Shah: With diplomacy and sanctions failing to end violence in Syria, it is time for a new strategy. A well-considered and responsibly conducted intervention could stabilize Syria while also helping NATO Members to achieve broader strategic aims in the region. …More
Memo 41: NATO’s Chicago Summit left many observers disappointed. Going forward, the Alliance should focus on concrete and achievable policy objectives. This Memo offers recommendations from atlantic-community.org members that could strengthen the Alliance’s unity and overall ability to deal with a changing world. …More
Joshua Clapp: With the Chicago Summit wrapped up, the pundits are weighing in about what they think the Summit accomplished and what it means for NATO. If most of the commentators are correct about the Summit, then the Alliance should not be congratulating itself too much. …More
Ilija Djugumanov: Only a year and a half since the New Strategic Concept was adopted, NATO has many challenges to deal with. As the global situation changes, so do the priorities of the Alliance. In light of the situation, where exactly are the Balkans on NATO’s agenda? …More
Joerg Wolf: A plethora of op-eds in the US and German media argue that the Alliance needs to be rescued, revitalized, resurrected, and reinvented. The think tankers want to reaffirm or renegotiate the transatlantic bargain and look for a revolution to overcome geostrategic irrelevance. …More
Joerg Wolf: Atlantic-community.org’s editor-in-chief was part of a group of 59 politicians, scholars, and other observers invited to take part in the Atlantic Council and Foreign Policy Magazine’s survey on the future of NATO. Here he explains why he answered the way he did and offers some thoughts about why NATO needs to focus on building capabilities, not proving its relevance. …More
The NATO summit in Chicago needs to be about more than just Afghanistan. ++ The Alliance must also respond to defense cuts, troubled relations with Russia, and the lessons from Libya. ++ There are three main areas for action. ++ First, …More
Ramin Daniel Rezai: Preparations for the Chicago Summit are well underway, as NATO extends formal invitations to its strategic partners, undertakes pre-summit consultations with its members and sets summit priorities. As the summit approaches, the city of Chicago is putting strict security measures in place. …More
NATO: More than half the casualties among the NATO forces in Afghanistan in 2011 were caused by improvised explosive devices (IED). This is also the case for one in three Afghans killed last year. In 2010, NATO adopted an action plan on counter-IED (C-IED) aimed at increasing the detection and neutralization of such devices, as well as the dismantling of the networks that manufacture them. …More
Vivien Pertusot: Tensions are already emerging between France’s new President and key partners. The potential for early French withdrawal from Afghanistan is one of the issues at the heart of them and has caused concerns in Allied capitals and at NATO. But let’s not exaggerate the issue. …More
Editorial Team: The additional articles from the second category of “Your Ideas, Your NATO” have been merged into a single “Your Opinion” piece. A recurring theme was that NATO must build civil-military relations and an intercultural youth dialogue, as well as undertake good governance and rule of law initiatives in order to support the long-term transition process underway in partner countries. …More
NATO: The klaxon shrieks at Tampere Air Base in Finland. Four minutes later, two F-18 Hornet fighter jets from the Finnish Air Force take off. Their mission – to intercept an aircraft that is not complying with international air traffic regulations. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the surveillance of European airspace is a sensitive topic for the Alliance Member states and their partners. …More
Volodymyr Navrotskyy: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has rich experience in conducting operations in places such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. Nevertheless, NATO is not the institution which has to preserve world peace. …More
Editorial Team: The NATO Summit in Chicago offers the Alliance a chance to address some of its most pressing issues. Besides subjects such as Afghanistan and defense expenditures, NATO will also have to deal with the possibility of protests during the Summit and the concerns of Chicago citizens. …More
NATO: The Danish warship HMDS Absalon has freed 12 hostages and taken on board 16 suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia. It is a successful end to their six-month deployment under NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield. But Denmark now faces a dilemma. Unless a country in the region can be persuaded to take them ashore and prosecute them, the suspects will have to be set free again in Somalia. …More
NATO: Take an inside look at NATO’s Special Operations Headquarters where elite forces from member and partner countries work and train together. By sharing a common understanding these troops build relationships and become part of a multinational Special Forces community. …More
The financial crisis has hit the defense budgets of NATO members. With no prospects for an economic upturn in sight, NATO has been urging its members to save money through specialization and collaboration, under the ‘smart defense’ …More
Benedetta Berti, Gonca Noyan, Hristiana Grozdanova, and Jelena Petrovic: NATO has announced a new interactive web platform: WE-NATO. Given that NATO is already active in a plethora of social media sites, the relevancy of this new initiative is called into question. Does NATO really need another public diplomacy tool? …More
NATO: WE-NATO is an interactive social media platform which uses different formats such as livestream interviews, chats, video blogs, comment pages, articles and blogs, to interact with you in an open and transparent dialogue on issues related to NATO’s current agenda. …More
Gökhan Tekir: To prevent a NATO attack on its country, Iran is seeking to expand its sphere of influence. However, in the long term Iran’s allies will not be able to maintain their hold on power because of domestic troubles. Such troubles leave Iran in the precarious situation of relying on unstable allies. …More
Editorial Team: Why doesn’t NATO have a good slogan? The NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy answers this and more in a final set of your questions, including answers about post-Cold War relevance and the strength of the Article 5 guarantee. …More
Editorial Team: The NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy returns to answer more of your questions! In this next round he discusses NATO’s role in Central Asia, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, and reaching out to Brazil, among other issues. …More
Dave Roddenberry: Sovereignty is a multi-use concept with a seemingly unending supply of definitions. It is also in an apparent logical conflict with the idea of interstate cooperation. Yet, for centuries states have sought to collaborate across a number of fields, though perhaps none more so than that of security. …More
Editorial Team: The NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy has responded to your questions and policy recommendations! In this second installment, he discusses NATO’s stance in Asia and how new powers like China and India impact the Alliance’s goals. …More
Editorial Team: The NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy has responded to your questions and policy recommendations! In this first of two installments, he answers questions about cooperation with countries touched by the Arab Spring, discusses an Atlantic Memo proposal for a Global Partnership Council, and many more. …More
Editorial Team: Join Atlantic Community for our first Question & Answer session of 2012. NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy James Appathurai will be taking your questions on NATO partnerships and regional initiatives, and answering in a video response. …More
Kristin Durant: Most important for the transatlantic relationship is the education and engagement of younger populations in debates which will affect their future. This must involve an identification with each other beyond the political constructs and a recognition of common transatlantic values. …More
NATO: One of the main topics at the Munich Security Conference was America’s defense review and changes to the US military presence in Europe. Political leaders and experts from around the world discussed what this means for international security and the transatlantic partnership. …More
Tomas Teleky: As the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago approaches, NATO has a full current agenda that includes both tackling new threats and learning from its recent major operations. Ten years after its mission in Afghanistan began, NATO must apply the experience to its newest initiatives and use its lessons to inform the Alliance’s current priorities. …More
Yurter Ozcan: The Turkish government uses an often negative rhetoric vis-à-vis Turkey’s NATO membership that correlates with public opinion towards the United States. Yet these trends are at odds with the major decisions that the governing party has made, which instead point towards a growing cooperation with NATO partners. …More
NATO is currently preparing for its summit meeting in Chicago in May 2012. This event was originally planned as a sort of “routine meeting“ which should primarily assess the progress made in implementing all the tasks NATO’s …More
General Karimi: Transition is on track. We are confident that the end of 2014 goal for its completion will be met. Today, already 80% of security operations in Afghanistan are led by Afghan National Security Forces, with ISAF enabling support. Transition must be seen as a comprehensive process, not a one-off event. …More
Niamatullah Sayer Sharifi: The Transparency International Corruption Perception Index has ranked Afghanistan dead last two years in a low. This paper attempts to find out where all this corrupt practice occurs and what are the ways to reduce corrupt practices in Afghanistan, particularly in the Afghan National Police. …More
Editorial Team: NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation General Stéphane Abrial has responded to your questions and policy recommendations! In the second installment of his answers, the general discusses maritime strategy and global governance, cultural obstacles to integration, and the role of strategic communications in NATO operations. …More
Shafiq Hamdam: As an Afghan citizen I am grateful to NATO for the huge improvements in security, economic development, governance, democracy and human rights in the last ten years. Do you think the investment was worth the human and financial costs? Is the world safer compared to 2001? Here are twelve reasons why my answer is “Yes!” What is your answer? …More
NATO: Insidious, invisible and terribly deadly, suicide bomb attacks are feared by security forces throughout the world. A constant threat that may strike at any time, in any place - unless detected in time. This is the aim of the STANDEX program, developed in close cooperation between NATO and Russia. A major technical advance in combating terrorism, which could, in the years ahead, enable security forces to identify suicide bombers in a crowd. …More
Russia and NATO are similarly threatened by advanced missile technology, so it makes sense to work together. ++ Cooperation on missile defense would also “show once and for all that we can build security with each other, rather …More
Editorial Team: General Stéphane Abrial has responded to your questions and policy recommendations! In this first of two installments, the general tackles questions on the ideas, implementation, and transparency of “Smart Defense”. He also offers his thoughts on a recent Atlantic Memo. …More
Ambassador Philip Murphy: Afghanistan is headed in the right direction: violence is down, the Afghan Army is growing in capacity, and the signs of community development are already visible. This has been made possible by the international commitment, and the ISAF soldiers and ordinary Afghans working to rebuild the country deserve our continuing support. …More
Kara Kingma: The recent NATO attack reiterates the need to assess the alliance between the United States and Pakistan. Pakistan’s cooperation does not guarantee success in Afghanistan; rather, the US partnership with the Pakistani military alienates Pakistan’s citizens and prevents needed domestic reforms. …More
Memo 35: The EU must restructure its Common Security and Defence Policy based on economic and operational realities. It should emphasize narrow, logistically feasible operations over broad outlines, clearly delineate its partnership with NATO, and take a longer term view when developing operational strategies. …More
Jordan Becker: The European security community must decide whether they want to exist as one part of an overall transatlantic security identity or to project power independent of NATO. Further EU defense integration can only occur when these two notions have been reconciled. …More
Editorial Team: Join Atlantic Community for our next Q&A with General Stéphane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. We invite you to ask questions about NATO’s ongoing efforts to implement “Smart Defense” and share your own thoughts on how to handle transformation in the 21st century. …More
NATO: The Alliance’s job to protect civilians from the threat of attack is done. Surrounded by the devastation that Qadhafi’s troops caused, residents and fighters of the city of Misrata declare their own end to the revolution by celebrating with a victory parade. They promise to hand in their weapons and rebuild their city. …More
Olga Kolesnichenko: While many lament the growing military capability gap between Europe and the US within NATO, new tracks of partnership, emphasizing specialization and compatibility, have the potential to fundamentally reshape NATO’s organizational structure without compromising security. …More
Felix F. Seidler: The EU has proven it is not a credible player in international security; the CSDP is merely a prestige project that has gone nowhere. Despite lower budgets, NATO still has the means to tackle current threats, and EU defense spending should be concentrated there. …More
NATO: Since the cyber attacks against NATO member Estonia in 2007, cyber threats have rapidly evolved in frequency and sophistication. The development and use of cyber tools can threaten and destabilize national and Euro-Atlantic security and stability. NATO is advancing its efforts to confront the wide range of cyber threats targeting the Alliance’s networks on a daily basis. …More
Editorial Team: Jamie Shea, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, has answered your questions! Read his responses on a range of topics including cyber security, counter-terrorism, and NATO’s role in combating future non-military security challenges. …More
Ian Lesser: Critiques of Europe’s defense spending and crisis response ability miss the point. In order to prosper strategically in the future, shaping the strategic environment through EU expansion, global partnerships and a coherent Mediterranean policy will be far more important. …More
Jason Naselli: Arguments that NATO is outdated or reaching its end are flawed because they incorrectly view it as a conventional military alliance, say a number of new books. Recent scholarship instead has looked at NATO as an international institution, and predicts a much brighter future. …More
NATO: Controlling what people heard, watched and read was key for Qadhafi to keep control over the Libyan people. Now, with the regime gone, Libya Al Hurra TV is playing a big part in the new free media. …More
Ira Louis Straus: Despite the constant barrage of anti-NATO rhetoric among Western media and politicians, the alliance has once again scored a victory in Libya. It now needs to learn the lessons of victory and consolidate the gains it has made, both among its members and in the Arab world. …More
Editorial Team: Join us for a Q&A session with Dr. Jamie Shea, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. Dr. Shea will respond to your questions about how NATO deals with cyber defence, terrorism, the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and energy security. …More
Memo 34: Europe’s defense sector needs reform. To cut costs and improve capabilities, states should consolidate national priorities to enhance political cooperation, streamline their administrative structures, further integrate their militaries and create an open defense market across the EU. …More
NATO: The transatlantic relationship has been the bedrock of NATO for over 60 years, but is it now changing? Is the US going off in new directions which will make it look more to Asia and less to Europe? …More
Olaf Theiler: September 11th, 2001 has often been called the day that changed everything. This might not be true for our day to day life, but in security, it really marked a new era. Together with the Twin Towers, our traditional perceptions of threats collapsed. The Cold War scenario that had dominated for over 50 years was radically and irrevocably altered. …More
Vivien Pertusot: Are NATO’s partnerships simply a form of public diplomacy intended to improve the Alliance’s image, or are they projects with real strategic potential? NATO now faces three choices: continue with business as usual, allow the partnerships to die, or invigorate them with renewed commitment. …More
Christian Mölling: Europe’s defense policy has reached a pivotal moment: states can either initiate comprehensive defense sector reform through the EU, or compromise their security long-term. Europe must link its national military capabilities to improve efficiency and stave off collective security decline. …More
Rory Stewart: The question today is not: Why did we invade Afghanistan? The question is: Why are we still in Afghanistan one decade later? Why are we spending 135 billion dollars? Why have we got 130,000 troops on the ground? …More
Stefanie Babst: NATO has embraced the power of social media. The Alliance engages thousands in discussions on defense and security and these open, online debates have already borne fruit. Transatlantic policy is no longer the realm of an isolated elite: all citizens now have a chance to make an impact. …More
In his paper for the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Patrick Keller assesses European defense budgets in the aftermath of the economic crisis.
Dr. Keller’s analysis shows how the …More
NATO: Robert Pszczel is the Alliance’s face in Russia. The head of NATO’s Moscow office, he now both talks about - and listens to opinions on - NATO’s evolving partnership with Russia. Here he explains some of the feedback - and why it’s positive to be an optimist. …More
Memo 33: To remain effective in a multi-polar world, NATO should strengthen its collaborative ties with Asia. The Alliance must strive to make China more partner than rival, develop a multilateral plan for stability in Central Asia and Afghanistan, and strengthen existing regional partnerships. …More
Oleg Khlopov: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) demonstrates the way regional powers can collaborate in order to bring about economic development and become security partners in Central Asia. Nowadays the SCO members are facing two main problems: the enlargement of the organization and their attitude to the role of the US in Central Asia. …More
Greg Randolph Lawson: The world does not need relics of a bygone era. It needs a robust security architecture capable of confronting the unique circumstances of different regions in ways most suitable to each. It is time to embrace a security architecture based on regionalism, not pretensions to universalism. …More
“The intervention in Libya will not be remembered as a positive precedent for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P),” concludes Juan Garrigues in his report for the Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB). His …More
Editorial Team: Our latest theme week seeks solutions to Europe’s most pressing security question: in a difficult economic climate, how can European defense ministries get more bang for their buck? We encourage all Atlantic Community members to contribute opinion articles to stimulate this important debate. …More
NATO: Can NATO still succeed in Afghanistan before the ISAF mission is set to withdraw in 2014? If so, what will it take? NATO has undertaken a large number of interventions beyond its borders since the Berlin Wall came down; but is it likely to do the same in the future, and what are the lessons learned from Afghanistan that could make these interventions more successful and productive? …More
Kristian A. Kennedy: NATO’s burden-sharing problems have dampened Canada’s enthusiasm for the Alliance. After five years in southern Afghanistan, Canada now turns its area of responsibility in Kandahar over to a predominantly American contingent. …More
“Libya is the first NATO war in which the US is taking a back seat, while the European allies take decisive military action. This should be cause for cautious optimism about NATO,” argues Tomas Valasek, director of …More
Gábor Iklódy: NATO’s new Emerging Security Challenges Division (ESCD) sends a strong political message and systematically brings together work on the areas that will increasingly affect the security of the Allies on both sides of the Atlantic: terrorism, cyber attacks, threats to energy supply, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. …More
Tom Koenigs: We need a civilian development strategy that does not require the presence of foreign troops. Each project must be able to function without international assistance. Projects must be smaller, be less “hard” (infrastructure, economic development), and be “softer” (e.g., education, supporting civil society). …More
Karl-Heinz Kamp: For decades, NATO favored stability over freedom in the Arab world. Now, the Alliance should support its partner countries with expertise to make their armed forces more effective in a democratic environment, especially in human rights training, international law, defense planning and border security. …More
Emma Jane Macnair Diaz: As the US begins to focus on solving economic problems at home, a greater share of global peacekeeping will now fall to NATO and the UN. Both institutions are ill-equipped to take on this role, however, and will remain so if member nations do not spend more on collective defense. …More
NATO Review: NATO’s Chuck Parker saw the impact of light weapons first hand when serving in Vietnam. Today, he is one of the people trying to prevent the same misuse and mishandling of the weapons that continues today. …More
Dmitri A Titoff: When the SCO emerged at the turn of the century, Western observers worried that its key founders, Russia and China, plotted an anti-NATO bloc. It turns out, however, that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s primary objective is to keep the status-quo in Eurasia. …More
Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group member Harlan Ullman argues that after the NATO drawdown from Afghanistan, EUCOM will become even more important as a means of sustaining and building …More
NATO Review: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is changing the way it works with its partners. Ambassador Dirk Brengelmann, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, explains what these changes mean to both sides.
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Felix F. Seidler: Despite financial constraints, the transatlantic partners must tackle the 21st century’s challenges together. However, the allies will be unable to pursue their interests on the global commons without new partners. Therefore, NATO should push cooperation with global partners who share our values. …More
Soeren Keil: It seems as if Merkel is more interested in what is good for Germany in the short-term than what is good for the EU and consequently Germany in the long-term. …More
Nick Witney at the Boell Foundation: While the United States will have to focuse on the Pacific, Europe should engage on its own account with Russia and Turkey in the management of its neighborhood. The relationship with the US is set to remain a genuine partnership and Europe should conduct it on a more balanced, transatlantic, unified European basis. …More
Anders Fogh Rasmussen: The international community has to ensure that the Arab Spring does not turn into a bleak winter. In Libya the question is not if Qadhafi goes, but when. NATO can help North Africa and the Middle East with its democratic transition - complementing support from other international actors, particularly the European Union and the United Nations. …More
Sinan Ülgen: Turkey has in recent years gone from the Cold War cornerstone of NATO to being seen as a mixed blessing. We need to trace the changes in Turkey’s circumstances and policy thinking, and understand how Ankara sees the Alliance’s future. …More
Editorial Team: “Every day, millions of refugees face murder, rape and terror,” says the UNHCR. Today is World Refugee Day, aimed at increasing awareness about the forcibly displaced worldwide. To commemorate this occasion we are asking you to join the debate on the growing Mediterranean refugee crisis. …More
Joerg Wolf & Elias Gladstone: Despite significant popular opposition to the Afghanistan war, most European NATO member states continue to send troops into harms way. The US media and strategic community, however, often downplays Europe’s role in the country, case in point Professor Russell Berman from the Hoover Institution. …More
Zsófia Farkas: Turkey is one of the most dynamic, rising countries of the world. The US and NATO should keep this in mind and offer more promising opportunities to Turkey in order to retain their loyal ally. …More
Efsun Kizmaz: NATO should support Turkey, not punish it, if it hopes to strengthen its position with the government and the public. Turkey’s geopolitical position, cultural affinity with the Middle East, its economic accomplishments and its youthful population are all important assets to the West, who should back Turkey before it is too late. …More
Stanislav Kulich: The concept of “Division of Labor” has been at the forefront of the EU-NATO debate over effective and mutually acceptable security role-sharing. However, due to the concept’s short-sightedness and inflexibility, cooperation has not gone smoothly. Regretfully as a result, transatlantic rivalry has escalated. …More
Sascha Lohmann: Social media fundamentally transformed the way in which public diplomacy is conducted. Whereas elected governments can advance their objectives through the use of social media, the prospects for international organizations remain vague as they are accountable solely to their member states. …More
Memo 31: The West should secure a positive legacy to its Afghanistan mission before the transition of responsibility in 2014 by strengthening the rule of law, promoting female education, smarter energy solutions and solidifying Afghan sovereignty. …More
Siri Bjorntvedt: By offering conditional membership to Georgia, NATO will help to stabilize the region and improve the democratic credentials of both partners. This will also help Georgia improve its relations with Russia, subsequently making another war much less likely. …More
Mike McCormack: A rather interesting set of comments by Swedish Defense Minister Sten Tolgfors at a January defense conference in Stockholm may prove quite telling with regards to Sweden’s current views on its strategic position. …More
Jonathan Caskie Preece : This paper analyses the underlying notion of anticipatory force in NATO’s evolving strategic doctrine. …More
Lea Landman: An Arab-Israeli peace agreement has clear parameters. The parties cannot reach a settlement because the process is lacking choreographed encouragement from external actors such as the US, NATO and the EU. …More
NATO: Group Captain Geoff Booth, who took part in enforcing the No-Fly Zone (NFZ) over Bosnia in the 1990s, outlines what’s needed of an aircrew during this kind of operation. …More
Jan Techau: Anders Fogh Rasmussen has won the war in Afghanistan. NATO’s new Secretary General did not give in to an “Afghanistan depression,” but used the mission to renew the Alliance and adapt its understanding of war. Afghanistan has welded NATO together in ways previously unexpected. …More
Rachel A. Posner: A collaborative, strategic approach to energy will provide NATO the means for success in Afghanistan. A NATO-wide energy initiative can fundamentally enhance mission effectiveness at multiple levels, from overcoming enemy insurgents to improving human development for local communities. …More
Amela C. Kraja: The security strategy in Afghanistan must increase counter-narcotics efforts and focus on reducing the financial means of development for the drug trade and the roots of the insurgency movement. It is crucial that the international community improve on the slow progress of the last decade. …More
Eva Gross: Afghanistan and the international community need a civilian and a political strategy to ensure the sustainability of transition. But for that to happen, the planning and implementation of such a strategy has to start - now. …More
Aigerim Shilibekova: In order to build more constructive cooperation with Central Asia, NATO must understand the perceptions from the region. NATO can implement efficient soft power policies, but any coordination needs to benefit both sides. …More
Anders Fogh Rasmussen: NATO Allies have now decided to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya. We are taking action as part of the broad international effort to protect civilians against the attacks by the Gaddafi regime. We will cooperate with our partners in the region and welcome their contributions. …More
Gvantsa Kvinikadze: This major threat to international security in Libya may provide NATO with a chance to utilize the strong, detailed words of the new Strategic Concept. NATO, the UN and regional bodies need to react, and effectively deal with the situation threatening the Libyan people. …More
Julia Ulrike Schramm: NATO needs renewed legitimacy in order to face emerging global threats and problems. This will require a complete restructuring, and new treaty, but also the cooperation of BRIC and other states will be necessary to create a more effective organization. …More
Celine Touboul: Before deciding on whether to engage militarily in Libya, NATO should define the strategic objective of such mission, as they may not be consistent with the purpose of the organization. It should also carefully weigh the risks of escalation and failure of such intervention. …More
Rachel J Emery: Many academics and journalists have put forth their own views on the future direction of NATO. However, what stills needs to be taken into account is that expansion of the Alliance’s scope beyond the immediate Euro-Atlantic area is not necessary in the current post Cold War security environment …More
Sarah Redohl: In the wake of uprisings in North Africa, NATO may be forced to make a choice between much-needed reform or stable dictatorships. With a hefty aim to be the world guarantor of security by 2020, NATO will need to reconsider its newest partnerships, beyond the interest of its allies, and start guaranteeing actual security. …More
Claudia Bernasconi: NATO’s success in combating terrorism thus far should not be overstated. Given the asymmetric nature of terrorism, a major military alliance focused on state based conflict may not be suited for this particular threat to international security. …More
Claudia Bernasconi: Given the growing political crises in Maghreb countries, the existing Mediterranean Dialogue with NATO could be utilized as a framework for supporting a political transition. For the time being NATO should reinforce its military cooperation to ensure maritime security. …More
Alexandra Jonas: Policymakers should take a closer look at the drafting process of developing NATO’s strategic concept. Introducing transparency, communication and consensus building into drafting strategy will only serve to create more credible and effective policy. …More
NATO: A 50-minute documentary film chronicling events and views in today’s Afghanistan from the people whose voices are too little heard these days: Afghans. It reaches across the generations to hear a wide variety of views from the people on whose behalf soldiers from NATO and beyond are fighting. They shine a light on complex issues. …More
Elizabeth Royall: President Barack Obama and the NATO community must strengthen their resolve to South Asia and communicate their commitment to Afghanistan and its neighbors; otherwise, the regional players will continue to hedge their bets and problems will remain intractable. Guarantees on short term policy in Afghanistan need to be given to ensure future stability. …More
NATO: For the first time, NATO commanders have access to technology which can protect deployed forces from ballistic missile attacks in the field of battle. This interim capability will be further expanded to form the cornerstone of a future missile defense system.
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NATO Review: Climate change, food security and population growth could form the perfect storm. The global population is likely to rise from 7 billion this year to 9 billion by 2050. Yet, at the same time as having more mouths to feed, the world faces having less water and cultivable land. What will this mean for our security?
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Walter L. Christman: A military relationship between NATO and China is unthinkable. Or is it? Albert Einstein once said, “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” It is time to examine possible modalities for transatlantic engagement with China in response to emerging global threats. …More
NATO: Important challenges remain, yet Bosnia and Herzegovina has made a remarkable turnaround in the 15 years, since NATO deployed its first-ever peacekeeping force there in December 1995 to implement the military aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement. …More
Felix F. Seidler: After its recent summit, NATO needs a plan for the implementation of its new strategic concept. The alliance cannot afford the achievements of the summit to fizzle out. Tax payers should demand that the pretensions of “active engagement” and “modern defence” be underlined by concrete actions. …More
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