Committee On The Challenges Of Modern Society Research Articles

Greening the Alliance: The Diplomacy of NATO's Science and Environmental Initiatives by Simone Turchetti

Reviewed by: Greening the Alliance: The Diplomacy of NATO's Science and Environmental Initiatives by Simone Turchetti Per Lundin (bio) Greening the Alliance: The Diplomacy of NATO's Science and Environmental Initiatives Simone Turchetti. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2019. 249. Simone Turchetti has carried out a fine study of NATO's science diplomacy and, later, environmental diplomacy. It covers the period from the organization's inception in 1949 up until the present. NATO's Science Committee, funded in 1958, and the individuals that shaped and populated it, the majority of them scientists, occupy center stage in Turchetti's narrative. Another NATO organization, the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS), whose establishment in 1969 manifested NATO's environmental turn, also has a key role. At first sight, it may seem surprising that a military alliance acted as a patron of science, let alone environmental research and management. But NATO was always more than a military alliance. It was also a political integration project. Tensions between member states were at times considerable. The agenda of the United States and the European member states often differed, not least when it came to conflicts like the Suez Crisis, the Algerian War of Independence, the Vietnam War, or the installment of nuclear missiles on European soil, particularly the medium-range ballistic missile Pershing in the 1980s. One observer has succinctly described the alliance as "a troubled partnership." It was in this context that science emerged as a diplomatic tool to lessen the often-strained political relations between member states. Because of science's universality, argues Turchetti, the new science diplomacy appeared more persuasive than the old traditional diplomacy. What kind of science did NATO's Science Committee fund? From the outset it focused on the physical environmental sciences. In the 1950s, the environment was an ambiguous term that could refer to a natural space as [End Page 276] well as a topographical one. Knowledge of the terrain has always been central to military affairs and consequently a key theme for military thinkers. Sun Tzu devoted considerable space to the subject in his classic The Art of War, for example. With the advent of aircraft, nuclear submarines, and satellites, the military terrain now included the skies, the deep seas, and even the upper atmosphere. Not surprisingly, meteorology, oceanography, and radio meteorology were singled out as key areas for NATO-funded scientists. The choices made were the outcome of negotiations, however. The negotiations, in turn, were shaped by NATO's particular structure as a multilateral defense organization. Admittedly, the United States had a leading role throughout the organization's history, but, as Turchetti shows, the European member states had considerable leverage. Thus, his detailed narrative of the negotiations suggests that the storyline of American hegemony that features prominently in the historiography, most notably in John Krige's writings, needs to be revised. In late 1960s, NATO began to take interest in the problem of environmental degradation. It established CCMS and launched an environmental program. Although the idealism behind NATO's environmental turn should not be dismissed entirely, the overarching motive was a combination of strategy and opportunism. Shortcomings in NATO's science diplomacy efforts led to a shift to environmental diplomacy. It certainly helped that the remote-sensing techniques NATO had elaborated for military purposes could also be used for environmental monitoring. What were the larger implications of NATO's patronage? Most obviously, they were political. NATO's sponsorship activities helped to hold the fragile alliance together by strengthening the bonds between the member states. But was the science diplomacy, as Turchetti claims, "absolutely decisive" for the alliance? Undoubtedly it was important, but the book does not substantiate such a strong claim. More interestingly perhaps, at least for historians of science and technology as well as environmental historians, are the sponsorship's repercussions on the environmental sciences. As Turchetti asks in the introductory chapter: "If it was the Cold War that originally shaped studies of the natural environment, then what does this mean for the current configuration of environmental studies and policies today? What have we inherited and what have we abandoned?" (p. 10). In answering these excellent questions, he points out that NATO...

NATO and the Environment: The Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society

AbstractLaunched with considerable fanfare in 1969, the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) was supposed to bring new life to NATO by both re-energising public support and engaging with a variety of themes, issues and partners well beyond the alliance's traditional scope. The first aim of this article is to go beyond the careful media operation that surrounded the launch of the CCMS and to examine the scepticism and resistance of some European partners, particularly the British. The second aim is to demonstrate that NATO started to think in terms of crisis management, disaster relief and environmental disasters well before 1989. The sheer military strength of the alliance and of its partners did remain central – and notably came back to the forefront in 1979 – but the alliance did start to see itself as a geopolitical player and to consider engagement beyond its strictly defined geographical area as early as 1969.

Nixon's Coup: Establishing the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society, 1969–70

In early 1969 the new US President, Richard Nixon, suggested the expansion of allied political consultation, as well as the setting up of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) committee which would deal with environmental problems. The Americans stressed that their proposal did not involve merely the technical aspects of environmental protection, but also the need for modern governance to evolve in order to safeguard the ‘quality of life’, a prime aspect affecting the legitimisation of the political and social systems. The US proposal was not received enthusiastically by the allies, who had little desire for radical changes, and did not regard this as a proper subject for the alliance; some even feared that a NATO role in environmental questions might mask a US disengagement from European security, especially during an era of détente. However, after making sure that the new committee would be fully under the control of the Council (in accordance with NATO's inter-governmental character), the allies finally agreed to its creation. The NATO discussions on the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) point to the emergence of a new, more complex international agenda, and raise interesting questions regarding transatlantic relations during an era of wider transitions.

The North Sea legal regime

If conflicts of uses in, and further degradation of, the marine environment of the North Sea occur by the year 2000 this will not be for want of a framework for the international legal regime. This now exists at the global, regional and sub-regional level. During the past 20 years, in response to the impetus provided by the United Nations Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment held in 1972, not only have longstanding international bodies such as the IMO (International Maritime Organization), the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), the Nordic Council, the Council of Europe and the European Community adopted active programmes for protection of the marine environment which had led to the adoption of treaties, regulations, guidelines and codes of practice, but also many new regional commissions and organizations have been established, to develop the measures concerning specific aspects of the required regime. Thus, the Oslo Commission now deals with measures to control and prevent ocean dumping; the Paris Commission with Land-based Sources of Marine Pollution; the Bonn Agreements with Co-operation in dealing with oil and other spillages. Even NATO has established a Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) to promote environmental protection in its area. What is lacking is any one body that takes an overall view of the situation. This paper outlines the regime developed through all these bodies and also examines whether there is a need to develop any new comprehensive body; whether an existing body could be given the lead role, or whether the on-going North Sea Conference, backed by the services of the new Task Force, can fill this role.

Accomplishments of the NATO/CCMS pilot study on international information exchange on dioxins and related compounds∗

A project promoting the international exchange of information on chlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins and dibenzofurans (CDDs and CDFs) was conducted under the auspices of the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Initiated in 1985, the Pilot Study on International Information Exchange on Dioxins and Related Compounds was a three‐year effort to improve the state of the art of dioxin research, regulation, and technology by encouraging collaboration among interested countries and organizations. Participating nations included Canada, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Numerous activities were accomplished to promote information exchange so that better informed decisions can be made concerning future research activities and resource allocations. Three major areas were addressed: Exposure and Hazard Assessment, Technology Assessment, and Management of Accidents. A total of...

NATO and the environment

The NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) was set up in 1969 to explore ways of using our experience to improve the quality of life for all peoples. The conceptual approach of CCMS is of pilot country leadership; stimulation of national and international action; open participation and results; and sustained follow-up. To date a wide variety of projects has been undertaken and it is thought that their success is at least partly due to the entrepreneurial spirit of the committee and the lack of heavy bureaucracy found in so many international bodies. The risk of international conflict may have lessened in recent months but the risks involved in technological advance has probably increased: CCMS hopes to provide some ‘navigational aids’ in this advance.

The Developing Field of Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is a rapidly growing source of power and heat in many countries of the world: production of electricity is generally confined to the most scismically active areas of the world; non electric uses are found throughout the earth. A cooperative program (CCMS) was organized in 1973 under the auspices of the Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) of the NATO with which non NATO countries could participate. This program included computer, based information systems, direct uses of geothermal energy, multipurpose processing and disposal of geothermai brines, small geothermal power plants, and hot dry rocks concepts. Several of the CCMS cooperative efforts were continued under the auspices of the International Energy Agency, often by way of bilateral agreements. Hot dry rock activities are diversified with funding from several nations. The US Geothermal program has expanded greatly in the last five years with the target to reach a geothermal energy production of 4 to 9 x 10. 15 Btu/yr at the end of the Twentieth Century, about half coming from geopressured methane.