Letter from the Secretary General

1. Shaping NATO for the 21st century

Focus on NATO

2. New Editor of NATO Review

3. Statement by Secretary General on the Spanish Parliament's vote on full integration into NATO

4. Switzerland joins Partnership for Peace

5. PfP Seminar on civil emergency planning

Documentation

6. North Atlantic Council communiqué

7. Statement on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1

In the last six years, the Council of Europe's membership has risen from 23 to 40 member states. Through this dynamic policy of enlargement and a clear commitment to pluralistic democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the organization has increased its contribution to democratic security in Europe. The Council has lent its full support to the international efforts to implement the Dayton agreements, its activities in Bosnia-Herzegovina being concentrated on building democratic institutions which are capable of ensuring peaceful cohabitation between the different communities. Accession to the Council of Europe has already led to tangible results in the new member states which, when they join, commit themselves to promoting its core principles both at home and in the continent as a whole. Thus, at long last, one can say that Europe is united on the basis of shared values.

4

All nations in Europe are confronted by problems stemming from the restructuring, reform and downsizing of their armed forces but nowhere is this more acute than in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In this second of two articles to be published in NATO Review, the author argues that the new democracies must find their own national solutions to the problem of defence transformation though, as a contribution to the debate, he puts forward ideas on how a solution might be sought. In the previous edition of NATO Review (No. 6, November), the author had called for a more frank exchange of ideas on resolving the difficulty faced by all these countries which must limit defence spending while attempting to provide effective armed forces.

5

The Alliance's new Research and Technology Organization (R&TO) came into being on 21 November 1996, to oversee the Alliance's proven cooperative defence research and technology (R&T) processes. An overview of the emerging new organization and its potential impact and benefits is provided below, along with a plea by the authors for the continuation of the networks of national experts which have been fostered and maintained within the NATO environment.

6

Totalitarian governments, the author argues, can easily prepare for, and wage, war while security policy in a democracy is essentially defensive and must be assured of popular support. Thus, democracies, and this is especially true of Russia, must find a way to ensure that the population accepts the need for sufficient resources to be allocated for defence. The author suggests that the adoption of democracy by the Russian people and the army cannot be taken for granted, the officer corps, in particular, fearing that it could undermine their authority. This problem is further compounded by the fact that the Communist Party had ensured that military theory was the prerogative of the state, and had regarded any independent creative thought as dangerous. The author therefore concludes that, as Russia implements the reform of the military, there is a need for much greater study of military theory which must be freed from its Marxist inheritance.

7

The Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) is taking on new challenges and broadening its mandate in this new era of Euro-Atlantic affairs. This was demonstrated recently when it amended its Constitution to formalize the status of the now 13 Associate Members from Central, Eastern and Northern Europe, granting them equal rights in almost all aspects of the ATA. The organization serves increasingly as an important forum for dialogue with NATO-oriented non-governmental organizations in countries which have concluded Partnership for Peace (PfP) agreements. Another new perspective of the ATA will be the Mediterranean.

8

To be prepared for the security challenges of the 21st century, the author argues that we need to begin now to devise new strategies and structures. The scope of what is considered "security" will have to be expanded as well as the means of addressing new problems. This requires a multidimensional strategy encompassing such issues as the impact of socio-economic changes; the phenomenon of the global financial and economic system; and transboundary environmental issues. These matters will have to be addressed through a collaborative approach among the states and institutions affected.