NATO strategy: the case for a new strategic concept

Abstract

Over 1986 and 1987 the tensions in Soviet-American relations which were so apparent in the early 1980s have given way to 'new thinking' in Moscow and a flurry of arms control proposals which five years ago would have been unthinkable. Mr Gorbachev's theme-calls of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) at home and 'common security' abroad seem to provide a historic opportunity for improving East-West relations.1 But change also brings with it uncertainty, as old-established policies and strategies have to be rethought. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the field of NATO strategy. In particular the 'global double-zero' agreement of December 1987 between the United States and the Soviet Union on the elimination of both superpowers' intermediate-range nuclear weapons has challenged the very foundations of NATO's 'flexible response' doctrine. In the wake of the double-zero agreement, Western governments have a crucial question to decide on alliance defence orientation: whether to try and continue to work within NATO's present strategic framework, or whether to adopt a new strategic concept. This article will argue that the time is ripe for a major review of NATO strategy and the adoption of a new doctrine which will give military planners clear direction into the 1990s.