NATO's Transformation Research Articles

NATO Transformation: from Climate Warming to Freezing in Politic

NATO Transformation: from Climate Warming to Freezing in Politic

Transformation of Transatlantic Cooperation: the Approach of the USA and Germany to Unity in NATO (1981)

West German diplomatic documents related to relations between the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany in 1981 are analyzed. This year, as usual, the new US administration launched an assessment of US foreign and security policy. The focus of the article's analysis is the two countries' approach to unity in NATO. The topicality of the problem is beyond doubt, especially given the frequently voiced and completely "unexpected" unity of the alliance for potential opponents at the current stage of NATO transformation and in the Ukrainian crisis. Within the framework of historical-politological methodology, the author managed to present a general overview of NATO unity, to examine the nature of mutual pressure in the alliance and the content of common compromises. Connections between the compromises reached and the process of unity formation were shown. The problem was also examined, which influence on the unity and unity in NATO the striving for an optimal level of equality for the FRG has. The author was able to shed light on the role of the American framework demands against the Allies. The scientific meaning of the article consists in 12 hypotheses and 6 new problems, the in-depth analysis of which is still to come. The practical meaning of the article is represented by 7 recommendations that can affect the unity and unity of NATO. The article has a discussion character.

From Trump to Biden: What Will Happen to NATO?

The article is devoted to the analysis of the process of transformation of NATO in the post-bipolar period and forecasting the prospects of the alliance. In the context of the bloc’s evolution, as well as taking into account the different approaches to US foreign policy on the part of the two leading parties and the most influential political and ideological groups, the authors investigate the reasons for the deterioration of transatlantic relations, including how Washington used the potential of the alliance to solve its strategic tasks in the past and present. It is noted that after the end of the Cold War, all US presidents to some extent used unilateral approaches to achieve the national interests of the United States at the expense of NATO, which contributed to the accumulation of discontent in Europe with American dominance in the alliance and the desire for a certain autonomy in the field of defense and security. In fact, President D. Trump continued the traditional conservative policy of B. Obama towards NATO, which was supposed to ensure the implementation of the strategy of “Pivot to Asia”. The Republicans’ use of harsh rhetoric and threats has seriously undermined transatlantic solidarity. Although conservative political and ideological groups in the United States actively supported Trump’s approach as “effective”, nevertheless, the majority of groups in both parties (liberals, realists and neoconservatives) for various reasons believed that such a policy does not meet American interests and it is necessary to consider the possibility of granting the EU greater independence in the field of defense and security. Since after Biden’s victory, the initiative on the issue of NATO policy passed into the hands of representatives of liberal groups, the President will have to look for ways to synthesize the points of view of progressives, “restorationists” and “reformists” within the framework of internal party competition. It is concluded that in the context of the new balance of power in the world the Biden administration will most likely be forced to abandon the traditional vision of the role of NATO in favor of the “reformist” concept of “strategic autonomy” of Europe.

Development and Improvement of Logistics in the Bulgarian Armed Forces: New Trends and Perspectives

Abstract The paper reveals the opportunities for the development and improvement of logistics in the Bulgarian Armed Forces in the context of NATO transformation. In the context of the Readiness Action Plan (RAP) at the Warsaw Summit in 2016, package capabilities were adopted to define the framework for Bulgaria’s commitments to provide logistic support to NATO forces. Using multinational logistics approaches is a key factor in the development of logistic capabilities. The paper discusses focusing on the organization of Host Nation Support in NATO operations and exercises, the use of new technologies and information systems, as well as innovation and integrated logistics support.

The poverty of power in military power: how collective power could benefit strategic studies

ABSTRACTStrategic studies deals intimately with the topic of power. Most scholars in the discipline work with a concept of power as an adversarial zero-sum competition. This is natural and necessary. However, other conceptions of power developed within political science and sociology could enrich strategic studies. Approaching two typical, traditional tasks of strategy – alliance building and war-fighting – this article demonstrates the heuristic mileage of theories of collective power. In particular, we can shed new light on the post-Cold War transformation of NATO as well as state-building as a strategy in counter-insurgencies with new ideas of power. Broadening the palette of theories of power is thus valuable if strategic studies is to prosper as an independent field of study.

The 2019 NATO Summit on NATO Leaders and Expectations for Ukraine

Ukraine's accession to NATO has been and remains one of the priorities of our country's foreign policy, its strategic goal. Since independence, Ukraine has been moving towards joining NATO, but this movement has been slow and sometimes declarative compared to other neighboring countries. At present, the transformation of NATO's views in Ukrainian society is rapidly turning into a positive side, and membership in this organization is regarded as a pledge to realize the national interests of the country. The great positive is that on February 7, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on the constitution of Ukraine's strategic course for membership in the European Union and NATO. The recent visit of the North Atlantic Council to Ukraine, as well as the 2019 London Summit, have been of particular interest, primarily because of the prospect of NATO enlargement in the coming years. There is every reason to believe that the transition to enhanced partnership programs will take place in the near future. And, of course, we should take the most serious steps to improve Ukraine's political system, de-oligarchization, fight against corruption and other urgent tasks of building a civil society and a full-fledged democratic order that will fulfill the political criteria of membership in the Alliance. And, ultimately, it will create the right conditions for security in the face of the challenges of the modern world. The next Alliance Summit will be held on December 3-4, 2019 in London to commemorate NATO's 70th anniversary. For Ukraine, an event such as the NATO Summit should theoretically be an opportunity to declare its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, with the likelihood of making any statements and making demarches in this regard. At the moment, it is important for Ukraine, prior to the start of the dialogue on the submission of the NATO Membership Action Plan, to demonstrate to NATO member countries progress in meeting the criteria for NATO membership and to understand the prospects of NATO enlargement in the coming years.

Key Performance Indicators for the Nato Centres of Excellence

Abstract The NATO Centres of Excellence (COEs), entities involved in various fields of transformation in support of the Alliance, are subject of different levels of accreditation performed by NATO. An important aspect of such recognition comes with the NATO institutional accreditation for Quality Assurance (QA) in the case of the COEs involved in education and training delivery (alongside other NATO, National and Partner Education and Training Centres). The NATO QA seal is the trustworthy mark that a COE fulfils the expected quality requirements (based on a solid Quality Management System) in the educational process, and provides deliverables „fit for purpose” as solutions for the NATO education and training requirements. While the individual strategies of the COEs are pretty much different in this endeavour, we would outline the commonality of the standards they rely on. This paper focuses on institutional performance measurement as reference in the Quality Management System, trying to identify benchmarks for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on the current experience at the COEs level - extended to the wider NATO Transformation Network - and shared best practice. DISCLAIMER: This paper expresses the views, interpretations, and independent position of the authors. It should not be regarded as an official document, nor expressing formal opinions or policies, of NATO or the HUMINT Centre of Excellence (HCOE)

Трансформація діяльності НАТО після закінчення “холодної війни”

The problem of the formation of international security mechanisms inEuropein the late 90's of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century is most closely connected with the transformation of NATO and the armed forces of the Allies. The urgency of research on this topic is conditioned by the need for reforming the Armed Forces of Ukraine in conditions of aggression of the Russian Federation (RF) againstUkraine, changes inUkraine's foreign policy course towards Euro-Atlantic integration and cooperation with NATO member-states. The purpose of the article is to analyze the stages, goals and directions of NATO's transformation in the context of transforming the geopolitical space of the European continent, through the prism of the last three NATO Strategic Concepts, after the end of the Cold War. The objective need to be able to withstand the present-day new threats has caused the need for changes in the functioning of theAlliance, which is reflected in the new and widespread notion of transformation. Transformation is a process that combines experience, innovative thinking, concept improvement, research and technology, experimentation, learning, and education to improve opportunities. NATO transformation determines the essence of the modernAlliance. The goal of transformation is the ability of theAllianceto meet the security situation and ensure that it effectively performs the tasks it has undertaken. In accordance with the decisions made, transformation covers a number of areas: political; military; organizational; structural educational and others. The three stages of the transformation of theAlliancecan be defined conditionally: the first – from the beginning of the 90-ies of the twentieth century until September 11, 2001; the second one – from 11.09.2001 before the beginning of the RF aggression againstUkraine; the third – from March 2014 and continues to the present. At the first stage, the imperative of transformation actually came to NATO since the end of the Cold War – the abolition of the Warsaw Pact (ATS), the collapse of theUSSR. NATO's historic decision to apply Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and to assist theUnited Statesafter the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, launched the second phase of NATO's transformation, characterized by the continuation of the transformational processes initiated in the first phase. The RF aggression againstUkrainerevived the risks of international clashes and showed that the territorial integrity of any country was not threatened and initiated the third stage of NATO's transformation, which continues to date and is characterized by the transition from the insurance strategy of the allies inEurope, to the containment strategy aggression of the RF. NATO's transformation is one of the most important conditions for achieving the Alliance's security objectives, its objective is to strengthen the Alliance's ability to counter existing and new security threats of the 21st century, to carry out a full range of military operations and missions on its territory and beyond. NATO transformation is a long and continuous process.

ТРАНСФОРМАЦИЯ НАТО В КОНТЕКСТЕ ГЛОБАЛЬНОГО ФИНАНСОВО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО КРИЗИСА

The article focuses on the main aspects of NATO development in the context of global financial and economic crisis. The consequences of this crisis have greatly influenced not only the economic sector of Euro-Atlantic countries, but all spheres including the defence policy. The central part of the article is devoted to the impact of budget cuts on NATO. The author pays attention to the fact that since the onset of the crisis, national governments of NATO member countries have implemented cuts to defence programmes and assets. This problem was deepened by disparity of the NATO defence shares between the EU member states and the U.S., as well as differences in defence budgets of the U.S. European allies. Today, non-U.S. NATO countries’ share is just 27% of NATO defence budget (to compare with 36% in 2000). Moreover, only four European allies – Estonia, Greece, the United Kingdom and Poland – met in 2015 the NATO target of the 2% of GDP spent for the defence. The fact is that such a situation potentially endangers critical capabilities of NATO. In addition, as a result of funding difficulties, most European countries were forced to reduce investments in equipment, as well as in research and development. So, the author comes to a conclusion that global financial and economic crisis has become an important milestone in the ongoing process of NATO transformation. The allies have been challenged not only to find necessary resources for maintaining the existing alert level, but also for overcoming capability disparities. Thus, the concept of “Smart Defence” and the “Connected Forces Initiative” are both under consideration in the article. The author insists that these efforts are part of broader measures undertaken to bolster military readiness and effectiveness of the Alliance. Along with it, the decisions made at September 2014 Wales Summit are also described as a very important element of NATO transformation which marked its new stage. Finally, taking a fast-paced international environment into account, the author concludes that the eventual economic recovery and a broad NATO reform will help to keep the Alliance relevant.&nbsp

Трансатлантические отношения во внешней политике Германии

Relations between Germany, the US and NATO today are the core of transatlantic links. After the Cold War and the reunification of Germany, NATO has lost its former importance to Germany which was not a "frontline state" anymore. The EU acquired a greater importance for German politicians applying both for certain political independence and for establishing of a broad partnership with Russia and China. The task of the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) development has been regarded by Berlin as a necessary component of the NATO's transformation into a “balanced Euro-American alliance”, and the realization of this project as the most important prerequisite for a more independent foreign policy. Germany’s refusal to support the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 led to the first serious crisis in US Germany relations. At the same time, there was no radical break of the deeply rooted Atlanticism tradition in German policy. It was Angela Merkel as a new head of the German government (2005) who managed to smooth largely disagreements in relations with the United States. Atlanticism remains one of the fundamental foreign policy elements for any German government, mostly because Berlin’s hope for deepening of the European integration and transition to the EU CFSP seems unrealistic in the foreseeable future. However, there is still a fundamental basis of disagreements emerged in the transatlantic relationship (reduction of a military threat weakening Berlin’s dependence from Washington, and the growing influence of Germany in the European Union). According to the federal government's opinion, Germany's contribution to the NATO military component should not be in increasing, but in optimizing of military expenses. However, taking into account the incipient signs of the crisis overcoming in the EU, and still a tough situation around Ukraine, it seems that in the medium-term perspective one should expect further enhancing of Germany’s participation in NATO military activities and, therefore, a growth in its military expenses. In Berlin, there is a wide support for the idea of the European army. However, most experts agree that it can be implemented only when the EU develops the Common Foreign and Defense Policy to a certain extent. The US Germany espionage scandals following one after another since 2013 have seriously undermined the traditional German trust to the United States as a reliable partner. However, under the impact of the Ukrainian conflict, the value of military-political dimension of Germany’s transatlantic relations and its dependence on the US and NATO security guarantees increased. At the same time, Washington expects from Berlin as a recognized European leader a more active policy toward Russia and in respect of some other international issues. In the current international political situation, the desire to expand political influence in the world and achieve a greater autonomy claimed by German leaders seems to Berlin only possible in the context of transatlantic relations strengthening and solidarity within the NATO the only military-political organization of the West which is able to ensure the collective defense for its members against the external threats. However, it is important to take into consideration that not only the value of the United States and NATO for Germany, but also the role of Germany in the North Atlantic Alliance as a “representative of European interests” has increased. The role of Germany as a mediator in establishing the West–Russia relations remains equally important.

Безопасность Испании в атлантическом формате

The article analyzes the changes that have characterized Spain’s approach to NATO in the post-Cold War era, and more specifically, the approach of different political parties to security and defense issues. If the People's Party is more Atlantic ideologically and traditionally, and therefore, is more in favor of strengthening cooperation with NATO, the socialists are increasingly pro-European and, therefore, advocate the strengthening of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). Spain doesn’t question the necessity of NATO, the presence of American military forces in Europe in general and in Spain in particular as a method of security enhancing. Fears of marginalization caused the accession of Spain to this military organization after its eastward extension. In recent years, Spain’s influence and authority in NATO declined amid the economic crisis. This loss of authority will be overcome as soon as the economic growth is resumed. Notwithstanding that its ambitions in NATO and EU do not meet its possibilities, Spain is participating in different missions and naval exercises of the Alliance, and is constantly modernizing its military forces. Spain has always been indifferent to the hypothetical threat from the East, but is more than apprehensive to the threat coming from the situation in Libya, instability in Tunisia and especially an eventual destabilization in Morocco where Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla are situated. Under the pretext of struggle against international terrorism, Madrid is trying to reestablish its influence in North Africa. Spain favors the transformation of NATO into an effective tool to prevent regional conflicts. The country's national interests will continue to determine its attention to problems of the Mediterranean and North Africa. The economic crisis has contributed to a drop in the objective value of bilateral relations with the United States and of Trans-Atlantic relations as a whole.

The geography of the Atlantic peace: NATO 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

This article examines NATO's transformation from the Cold War to the present and offers a framework of interpretation. Transformation has entailed a downgrading of territorial defence and an upgrading of out-of-area crisis management, as well as diplomatic engagement and partnership. NATO has thus become a more diversified and globalized alliance. The article traces the evolution post-1989 of the principled policy areas for the alliance—defence, crisis management and partnership—and explains difficulties of development within each area. It also enters into the controversy of interpreting NATO. It explains NATO as an outcome of America's enduring need to engage in the management of Eurasia's rim and Europe's equally enduring need for outside assistance in organizing a concert of power inside Europe. NATO has historically been strong when Europe's and North America's power capabilities and concepts of order are in equilibrium and thus when NATO governments have defined the geography of the Atlantic peace in such a way that both pillars can contribute to it in substantial ways. The article puts this perspective in opposition to two mainstream frameworks of thinking—liberal idealism and retrenchment realism—and applies it in a critique of the diversified and globalized profile that the alliance has developed. The article finally offers a moderately positive assessment of NATO's September 2014 Wales summit as a contribution to renewed geopolitical equilibrium, and it suggests how this contribution could be further strengthened.

Making Sense of Turkey's Rising Power Status: What Does Turkey's Approach Within NATO Tell Us?

This article tries to decode Turkey's rise in the context of relations with Western powers within NATO. The main question to be answered is whether Turkey's rise can be interpreted as a challenge to the primacy of the current international order that has been to a significant extent shaped by the Western powers. Unlike other rising powers, Turkey has developed strong institutional relations with these states. NATO is one of those institutional platforms in which Turkey has been in close contact with the established Western powers. The positions that Turkey has adopted on the issues occupying NATO's transformation agenda can offer clues as to how to interpret Turkey's recent rise.

1999 and 2010 NATO Strategic Concepts: A Comparative Analysis

This article uses cooperative security theory to examine and compare 1999 and 2010 NATO Strategic Concepts, thus assessing the main developments of NATO transformation during the last decade. Analysis shows that the new Strategic Concept is a more “evolutionary” than “revolutionary” document, as the main elements and functions of the Alliance remain unchanged. New strategy projects NATO as a multifunctional security structure, which combines collective security and collective defence dimensions on the one hand with active policy of promoting stability (operations and partnerships) on the other. The most important difference between 1999 and 2010 documents is the multifunctional character and high level of ambitions in the new strategic plan in such areas as civilian capabilities, missile defence, cyber security, NATO-EU relations, etc. The new Strategic Concept modernized NATO and demonstrated solidarity about the main tasks of the Alliance. Nevertheless, actual implementation of this ambitious agenda depends on the ability to address deeply rooted internal problems (such as increasing gap between the US and Europe), which will require a favourable international environment, considerable resources and strong political will by the Allies.

Transforming NATO: new allies, missions, and capabilities

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Abbreviations Chapter 3 Introduction Chapter 4 Chapter 1. Management and Sustainability of Clubs: Conceptual Foundations of NATO Politics Chapter 5 Chapter 2. Explaining NATO's Transformation: the Concept of Complementarities Chapter 6 Chapter 3. Expanding the Mission: NATO's Out of the Area Involvement Chapter 7 Chapter 4. Advancing NATO's New Capabilities Chapter 8 Chapter 5. Adding New Allies: Three Rounds of Post-Cold War NATO Expansion Chapter 9 Chapter 6: Managing Twenty-First Century Operations: NATO's Involvement in Afghanistan Chapter 10 Conclusions Chapter 11 Appendix: Assessing the Effect of Complementarities Chapter 12 Bibliography Chapter 13 Index

The French Return to NATO

The French return to NATO has been met with standing ovations in the alliance and perceived as France finally returning to the fold. This article traces the evolution of the French process and suggests that it does not entail a major change in French policy, nor is it taking place at the expense of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy. The French have been given central positions within the Command Structure that will enable them to influence NATO's transformation and achieve the ultimate goal of developing a European Union strong enough to be considered an equal partner to the United States.

INTRODUCTION: France's ‘return’ to NATO: implications for transatlantic relations

The paper looks at France's return to NATO, looking at the impact of its ongoing reintegration in the alliance's military structure from a strategic, a political and an operational perspective. We address three main questions: (1) How will France's reintegration affect other NATO countries? This question will be answered from the perspectives of Canada, the UK, Germany and the United States; (2) How will France cope with the transition? French experts will assess the French debate on NATO, the operational dimension of France's reintegration of the command structure and France's role in transatlantic relations; (3) How will the decision affect the future prospects for allied action? This question will be addressed by looking at the nuclear dimension of NATO, burden-sharing, NATO's transformation and the impact of France's reintegration on European defence.

The structural and political crisis of NATO transformation

Under the moniker of transformation, NATO members initiated reforms that have greatly expanded alliance responsibilities. These reforms have redefined security concerns to encompass terrorism, nuclear-proliferation, and energy security and have enlarged the geographic reach of Article V guarantees by extending membership to 12 East European states. Also, NATO has added two new responsibilities to its mandate: democratisation tasks and global peacekeeping operations. Evidence suggests these ambitious transformation policies are creating instabilities within the alliance. The three transformation spheres of responsibilities – security guarantor, democracy promoter, and global interventionist – structurally conflict with one another in NATO operations in Afghanistan and the Balkans. There is a lack of political support for NATO's broadened responsibilities and this threatens alliance credibility. Only by diminishing the transformation mission set or increasing coordinated political support can NATO remedy th...

Transformace NATO a summit v Bukurešti. Směrem k organizaci kolektivní obrany, kolektivní bezpečnosti nebo kooperativní bezpečnosti?

Transformace NATO a summit v Bukurešti. Směrem k organizaci kolektivní obrany, kolektivní bezpečnosti nebo kooperativní bezpečnosti?

Трансформация НАТО: от концепций к практике

Трансформация НАТО: от концепций к практике