The Secretary General

NATO Review

- Cyber defence 12 Feb. 2019 What is NATO doing to address the complex challenges of cyberspace?
- NATO’s role in cyberspace 12 Feb. 2019 Cyber threats to Alliance security are becoming more frequent, complex, destructive and coercive. Laura Brent of NATO’s Emerging Security Challenges Division looks at the challenges facing the Alliance and at the steps that have been taken in cyber defence over the past decade. The views expressed are her own.
- NATO – ready for anything? 24 Jan. 2019 Readiness has been at the top of NATO’s agenda since 2014. Jonathan Hill, a former staff member of NATO’s Operations Division, looks back through history to show that many of the current issues surrounding readiness, successful deterrence and reassurance are not new. The views expressed are his own.
- The end of the ''Great Illusion'': Norman Angell and the founding of NATO 14 Jan. 2019 In the first half of the 20th century, excessive nationalism, radical ideologies and misguided isolationism plunged Europe into two major wars that set half the world on fire. Today, as these trends are again on the rise, it is instructive to recall how an idealistic pacifist came to the conclusion that a collective defence pact between like-minded countries was the only way to keep the peace. Michael Rühle of NATO’s International Staff tells the story of Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Angell. The views expressed are his own.
- VOSTOK 2018: Ten years of Russian strategic exercises and warfare preparation 20 Dec. 2018 To better understand the implications for NATO Allies of all of Russia’s strategic exercises, including large-scale snap exercises, they need to be seen in their full context, explains Dave Johnson of NATO’s International Staff. The views expressed are his own.
- Corruption and conflict: hand in glove 06 Dec. 2018 Corruption contributes to civil unrest and feeds the rise of violent extremists. It is used as a foreign policy tool by some states to undermine institutions in others. It can also contribute to the failings of international interventions in conflict situations. As Karolina MacLachlan of Transparency International explains, this is why corruption matters to NATO.
- Cooperating to counter hybrid threats 23 Nov. 2018 Countering hybrid threats is a priority for EU-NATO cooperation and the new European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki plays a unique role. Axel Hagelstam of the Finnish Mission to NATO and Kirsti Narinen of the Centre explain.
- Trident Juncture and the information environment 16 Nov. 2018 NATO’s audiences are found in a noisy information environment, filled with competing messages and alternative voices. It is developing a capability to analyse how NATO communications are received and what others are saying. Jay Paxton of Allied Command Transformation explains.
- The resilience of Resolution 1325 09 Nov. 2018 Clare Hutchinson, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, looks at what has been achieved since UN Security Council Resolution 1325 was adopted 18 years ago.
- A credible transatlantic bond: Trident Juncture and NATO capabilities 19 Oct. 2018 Trident Juncture 18 is a collective defence (Article 5) exercise, which portrays a threat from a fictional near-peer adversary on the north-eastern flank of the Alliance. It will exercise NATO’s ability to defend and reinforce Allies, including from across the Atlantic. Military historian Erlingur Erlingsson looks at the wider context.
- Flexible logistics in a fluid, modern security environment 09 Oct. 2018 Military mobility is essential for NATO’s deterrence and defence posture, and is now a key focus of cooperation with the European Union. Peter Williams of NATO’s Defence Policy and Planning Division explains. The views expressed are his own.
- NATO-UN relations: looking ahead after 10 years of expanding cooperation 29 Aug. 2018 - 28 Sep. 2018 NATO and the United Nations share strong bonds. Both organisations are conceived out of the same ethos of post-World War Two multilateralism and share a deep-seated commitment to common values. Endre Sebok of NATO’s Political Affairs and Security Policy Division explains how dialogue and cooperation are evolving to address common challenges and new realities. The views expressed are his own.
- A world without NATO? 29 Aug. 2018 Predictions about the imminent demise of NATO have been around for ages. But what would the end of NATO look like? Michael Rühle of NATO’s International Staff shares his views.
- Can ISIS regroup? Lessons from interviews with ex-ISIS fighters 09 Aug. 2018 Based on extensive interviews conducted as part of her wider research on terrorist organisations, Vera Mironova – a research fellow at the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School – shares her insights into the different types of ISIS/Daesh fighters, what happened to them and what they might do next.
- Energy security: a critical concern for Allies and partners 26 Jul. 2018 Ten years after the launch of NATO’s role in energy security, the deterioration in the security environment has brought increased strategic attention to the issue. Julijus Grubliauskas and Michael Rühle of NATO’s Energy Security Section explain. The views expressed here are their own.
- The Alliance’s evolving posture: towards a theory of everything 06 Jul. 2018 This broad overview of NATO’s overall posture, also sets out to dispel some widely-held myths about NATO, while highlighting some of the real challenges the Alliance needs to address. Dr Kęstutis Paulauskas works in NATO’s Defence Policy and Planning Division. The views expressed here are his own.
- The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty at fifty: a midlife crisis 29 Jun. 2018 The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is a cornerstone of international efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to eventually eliminate them and to facilitate peaceful use of nuclear energy. But the Treaty risks being undermined by disappointment at the slow pace of nuclear disarmament, while at the same time the role of nuclear weapons in international politics is growing. Dr Jacek Durkalec, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, explains.
- The Black Sea region: a critical intersection 17 May. 2018 The Black Sea region is of crucial significance for Europe, being a major crossroads and critical intersection of east-west and south-north corridors. The region is home to three NATO members (Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey) and several NATO partner countries, so any instability or hostility in the area directly impacts the Alliance. Pavel Anastasov – a political scientist, who previously served in the Bulgarian government and currently works for NATO – outlines the main security challenges in the region and NATO’s response to them.
- Will the Alliance discover navies again? 04 Apr. 2018 “There is no one area in which Russia is outperforming NATO but their approach in combining technology, ways of fighting, platforms, weapons, sensors alongside an aggressive political will to act makes them challenging adversaries.” – Prof. Peter Roberts of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.
- Resilience: Planning for Sweden’s ''Total Defence'' 04 Apr. 2018 In response to the deteriorating security situation, Sweden is taking steps not only to enhance its warfighting capability but also to increase the resilience of society.
- Diplomacy by other means? NATO’s science sixty years on… 26 Mar. 2018 The public release of archived documents has shed new light on the wider legacy of the Alliance’s investment in science. Crucially, it reveals the importance of this sponsorship, which started exactly sixty years ago, for the advancement of science as much as for the Allies’ relations at the height of the Cold War.
- Projecting Stability: an agenda for action 13 Mar. 2018 “NATO’s neighbours are more stable, NATO is more secure.” This statement is at the heart of NATO’s work on Projecting Stability.
- Adapting NATO to an unpredictable and fast-changing world 19 Feb. 2018 The GLOBSEC NATO Adaptation Initiative offers food for thought on how the Alliance needs to further adapt to meet the challenges of a century in which the very idea of security and defence will be radically changed.
- Sweden and NATO – 23 years down the road 11 Jan. 2018 In the face of current security challenges, Sweden is increasing defence spending, strengthening its capabilities, and deepening its cooperation with NATO and partner countries.
- Beauty and the Beasts: Why terrorists target history 20 Dec. 2017 Taking in interviews ranging from the head of UNESCO through to an Afghan smuggler, this documentary looks at the trail of destruction left by terrorist groups in our cultural heritage. It investigates how they both ban it but yet use it to fund their activities.

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The principle of collective defence is at the very heart of NATO’s founding treaty. It remains a unique and enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance.

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Collective defence - Article 5

NATO constantly reviews and transforms its policies, capabilities and structures to ensure that it can continue to address current and future challenges to the freedom and security of its members. Presently, Allied forces are required to carry out a wide range of missions across several continents; the Alliance needs to ensure that its armed forces remain modern, deployable, and capable of sustained operations.

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Partnerships: projecting stability through cooperation

Many of the challenges NATO faces require cooperation with other stakeholders in the international community. Over more than 25 years, the Alliance has developed a network of partnerships with non-member countries from the Euro-Atlantic area, the Mediterranean and the Gulf region, and other partners across the globe. NATO pursues dialogue and practical cooperation with these nations on a wide range of political and security-related issues. NATO’s partnerships are beneficial to all involved and contribute to improved security for the broader international community.

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Partnerships: projecting stability through cooperation

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NATO is an active and leading contributor to peace and security on the international stage. It promotes democratic values and is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. However, if diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.

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