The Secretary General

NATO Review

- Protection of Civilians 17 Jun. 2022 Protecting civilians is an ethical and strategic imperative and a crucial factor in the planning, conduct and assessment of military operations.
- Protection of Civilians: a constant in the changing security environment 17 Jun. 2022 Protecting civilians is an ethical and strategic imperative and a crucial factor in the planning, conduct and assessment of military operations. NATO’s strategy and planning for the future needs to reflect that reality.
- The Madrid Strategic Concept and the future of NATO 02 Jun. 2022 At the Brussels Summit in June 2021, NATO leaders agreed to begin work on a new Strategic Concept, which will be adopted at the upcoming Summit in Madrid in June 2022. The last such Concept was agreed back in 2010 when the world was a different place.
- Moving towards security: preparing NATO for climate-related migration 19 May. 2022 Globally, most states and international institutions are unprepared for the coming magnitude of climate-related migration. NATO member countries, already at the forefront of conflict-related migration, will be destinations for migrants leaving areas that are becoming unlivable under changing climate conditions.
- The present state of East-West relations 09 May. 2022 This article, written in 1976 by then-Secretary General Joseph Luns, may evoke the old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The 1970s saw a period of détente, or the easing of tensions, between the “West” (NATO) and the “East” (the Warsaw Pact, led by the Soviet Union). Despite warming relations and plenty of good-faith diplomacy, there were still concerns that the Soviet Union would continue its attempts to expand its sphere of influence through unpredictable actions, ideological conflict and even open hostility.
- Risk, Uncertainty and Innovation 14 Apr. 2022 The Alliance faces significant challenges from disruptive technologies and innovations in both conventional and hybrid methods of war. Distinguishing between uncertainty and risk can help to better prepare for emerging threats and to direct innovative initiatives to counter them.
- Extending NATO: retirement plan not required 04 Apr. 2022 Ups and downs in NATO’s fortunes are nothing new, and predictions of NATO’s demise are almost as old as the Alliance itself. What is remarkable is not the Alliance’s decline but its longevity.
- That Council of Yours 07 Mar. 2022 The following article was written by André de Staercke, a former Belgian politician and permanent representative to NATO, for the 20th anniversary of the Alliance in April 1969. It reflects upon NATO’s early years and the appointments of its initial Secretaries General, each of whom brought something unique to the Alliance.
- NATO: An unexpected driver of climate action? 01 Feb. 2022 The recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) raised the stakes for global climate action, recognising the urgency of acting today to decarbonise global energy systems. Even so, there have been competing claims about its success, and thousands of youth activists, who gathered in the streets of Glasgow, criticised world leaders and businesses for still failing to recognise the urgency of the climate crisis – the most critical matter of our time. In the fight against climate change, everyone has a part to play. How is NATO, as a security organisation, contributing to international climate efforts and what more can the Alliance do?
- Review of Stanley R. Sloan, ''Defense of the West'' (2nd Edition, Manchester University Press, 2020) 13 Jan. 2022 For decades, Stanley R. Sloan has belonged to the small group of NATO-watchers who offer eminently readable accounts of where the Alliance comes from and where it is going. US historian Lawrence Kaplan calls Sloan ''the most important American authority in the field of NATO historiograph''.
- Why our values should drive our technology choices 16 Dec. 2021 It is fair to say that our relationship with technology is complicated. Just look at headline topics like renewable energy or Artificial Intelligence (AI), or consider pharmaceuticals, automotive, consumer electronics, social media and biotechnology. On the topic of any of these technologies, you’ll almost certainly hear a cacophony of voices that range from promising a new era of happiness to predicting the doom of humanity. How can we make sense of these confusing perspectives, and how can we maximise the benefits of emerging and potentially disruptive technologies while effectively minimising their risks?
- Hybrid Warfare – New Threats, Complexity, and ‘Trust’ as the Antidote 30 Nov. 2021 One can argue that the nature of international security and conflicts remains the same. States are—as always—embroiled in zero-sum military and economic competitions, armed conflicts still seem inevitable, security dilemmas and balancing take place unremittingly, and so on and so forth. However, the modus operandi is no longer the same. Conflicts are fought in new, innovative, and radically different ways. With the advent of modern hybrid warfare, they are less and less about lethal or kinetic force.
- Inside-out: what changing Russian domestic politics mean for NATO 12 Nov. 2021 Russia’s decision to suspend the activities of its delegation to NATO and shutter the Alliance’s offices in Moscow seems to represent a sharp worsening in relations with the West. However, digging beneath the surface, such moves often have less to do with global than domestic politics, or are, at least, the reflection of a series of processes taking place within Russia and the concerns of an ageing leadership whose priority is retaining power at home.
- An Artificial Intelligence Strategy for NATO 25 Oct. 2021 At their October 2021 meeting, Allied Defence Ministers formally adopted an Artificial Intelligence Strategy for NATO. Current and former NATO staff with direct involvement in the development and implementation of the Strategy outline its main features and objectives.
- Countering disinformation: improving the Alliance’s digital resilience 12 Aug. 2021 The Alliance needs a broadly effective strategy to counter the evolving threat of disinformation. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help to identify and to slow the spread of false and harmful content while upholding the values of pluralistic and open societies.
- NATO’s Innovation Challenge 09 Jul. 2021 What the moon landing can teach us about innovation and how to meet the challenges of the future.
- NATO’s Warfighting Capstone Concept: anticipating the changing character of war 09 Jul. 2021 How can the Alliance stay ahead of the competition in an increasingly fluid, connected and complex global security environment? NATO’s Warfighting Capstone Concept maps out a path for Allies to focus, synchronise, and cohere efforts.
- Quantum technologies in defence & security 03 Jun. 2021 Given the potential implications of novel quantum technologies for defence and security, NATO has identified quantum as one of its key emerging and disruptive technologies. This article seeks to unpack some of the fascinating future applications of quantum technologies and their implications for defence and security.
- Countering cognitive warfare: awareness and resilience 20 May. 2021 The Alliance faces a range of challenges in emerging domains of conflict. These domains can arise from the introduction of new and disruptive technologies. The domains of space and cyber, for example, came out of developments in rocket, satellite, computing, telecommunications, and internetworking technologies. The increasingly widespread use of social media, social networking, social messaging, and mobile device technologies is now enabling a new domain: cognitive warfare.
- Book review: Deterrence in the 21st Century – Insights from Theory and Practice 29 Apr. 2021 This is a most timely book. After the end of the Cold War, interest in deterrence waned, yet a more volatile security environment has brought it back with a vengeance. But what is deterrence really about?

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NATO IN FOCUS

NATO is a political and military alliance, whose principal task is to ensure the protection of its citizens and to promote security and stability in the North Atlantic area.

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Deterrence and defence

Each NATO member country needs to be resilient to resist and recover from a major shock such as a natural disaster, failure of critical infrastructure, or a hybrid or armed attack.

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Resilience and Article 3

Partnerships: projecting stability through cooperation

The Allies seek to contribute to the efforts of the international community in projecting stability and strengthening security outside NATO territory. One of the means to do so is through cooperation and partnerships.

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Partnerships: projecting stability through cooperation

Environment, climate change and security

NATO recognises that it faces many environmental challenges, including the risks posed by climate change. In particular, the Alliance is working to reduce the environmental impact of military activities, to adapt and become more resilient in response to security challenges posed by environmental change.

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Environment, climate change and security

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