NATO’s “Global Partners” in Asia: Shifting Strategic Narratives

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article analyzes how NATO officials perceive the Alliance’s global partnerships with Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia, South Korea, and Japan. In doing so, it seeks to establish the degree of conformity within the alliance about how useful and important the partnerships are, and connectedly, how NATO’s strategic narrative about its global security role is changing. The article argues that while NATO is committed to maintaining links with each of the countries analyzed, a process of retrenchment can be identified within the alliance, driven by the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and a deteriorating security environment in the Middle East and North Africa. This is reflected in new strategic narratives within the alliance that focus on NATO’s eastern and southern flanks.