Science: NATO’s “third dimension”
“Now the Alliance needs a third dimension: it needs not only a strong military dimension to provide for the common defence; not only a more profound political dimension, to shape a strategy of peace; but it also needs a social dimension (…) in this final third of the Twentieth Century through the humanities and science.”
The words of US President Richard Nixon addressing the North Atlantic Council in 1969 capture the essence and added value of the science programme for the Alliance as a whole.
At an exhibition organised by NATO Archives on “Science and the Alliance – NATO’s Third Dimension” in December 2014, the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, Ambassador Sorin Ducaru, explained, “the advantage of the science domain within the Alliance is that it encourages sharing both ideas and benefits, recognising that these problems have no national or regional boundaries. This could become the most positive dimension of the Alliance, opening creative new channels to all the rest of the world”.
Over 50 years of scientific cooperation
A NATO science programme emerged in 1956 from the Report of the Three Wise Men – a committee assigned to identify opportunities to enhance non-military cooperation. Scientific cooperation was established as one of the ways of forging international partnerships and promoting security. In March 1958, a NATO Science Committee, composed of experts from Allied countries, met for the first time to evaluate, oversee and fund the programme.
Initially consisting of member countries only, NATO’s Science Programme focused on cutting-edge science. Later, it expanded to include scientists and researchers from both NATO and partner countries and widened its scope to research and development in almost every domain, ranging from medicine to environmental security – including flood prevention, disposing of toxic waste, as well as earthquake disaster management.
Since the 9/11 attacks, the main focus of the programme has been topics related to defence against terrorism. For instance, issues such as the root causes of terrorism, the social and psychological consequences of terrorist attacks, the detection of explosives and the psychology of suicide bombers have been examined.
In short, the NATO Science Programme provides opportunities to share best practices and exchange knowledge on a broad range of subjects in the field of civil science and security, while expanding networks of scientists through joint projects and practical cooperation. Moreover, it is unique in that it can cross barriers – of nationality, language and culture – that other security-related topics cannot do, especially in times of crises, making it an unquestionable asset for an inter-governmental organisation like NATO.
Tangible results
There are many international cooperative initiatives that have been sponsored by the NATO Science Programme, among them an Anglo-American satellite research project; oceanographic research at the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation in La Spezia, Italy; studies of cosmic rays using balloons at high altitude under the direction of Bristol University; and testing astronauts on their ability to withstand the stresses of heat at the Wright Air Development Center in Ohio, United States during the “Project Mercury” selection process.
Another venture was a study on “Automotive Propulsion Systems”, which identified areas that could be pursued to reduce dependence on petroleum-based vehicles. This included electric and hybrid engine systems that are increasingly common on our roads today. NATO Secretary General, Joseph Luns, was able to test-drive one of the early models on the NATO Headquarters site in 1974.
More recently, the Virtual Silk Highway (initiated in 2002 and ongoing), a satellite-based regional system, connected universities in three Caucasian, five Central Asian countries and Afghanistan to the Internet for the first time.
Nobel Prize winners
As many as 18 individuals who received a NATO Science Programme research grant went on to become Nobel Prize winners. These include Paul C. Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield, who in 1977 and again in 1979 received a NATO research grant for the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In 2003, they were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries on the subject. At the time, there were still numerous problems to overcome before MRI could be used. Today, it is routine within medical diagnostics and has replaced many invasive methods of examination.
Professor Norman F. Ramsey, the first appointed Assistant Secretary General for Science (Science Advisor) in NATO who initiated the NATO programmes for Advanced Study Institutes, Fellowships and Research Grants, received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1989.
In 2002, the NATO Science Programme established its own award – the NATO Science Partnership Prize – in recognition of excellence in scientific collaboration between partner and NATO country scientists.
An enduring contribution
Dr Deniz Yuksel-Beten, Senior Advisor of the Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme explains, “the SPS Programme has changed over the years, but the integral aims and objectives remain the same: to reach out to partner countries with concrete security-related civil science, and to foster and develop cooperation in areas of mutual interest both to Alliance and its partners”.
Some aspects may have changed since its inception, but the fundamental approach of NATO’s third dimension remains as strong and relevant as it was more than 50 years ago. In today’s globalised world, NATO provides a unique forum for a multinational and multicultural approach to common security problems. Its Science Programme offers cohesive networks for scientists, experts and policy-makers from Allied and partner countries. These networks are flexible and serve as a structure for cross-boundary cooperation, complementing the political and military dimensions of the Alliance.