Towards a Strategic Concept: A NATO Strategy for Eurasia in the 2020s

Abstract

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance in crisis, part of a larger, global crisis surrounding the credibility and survival of the American-led world order at a systemic level. NATO was originally created in 1949 to defend Europe against the Soviet threat, or in the words of Lord Ismay, to “keep the Soviet Union out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” In other words, NATO’s main goal was collective defense, exemplified by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. However, after the end of the Cold War and the elimination of the Soviet threat, NATO’s responsibilities expanded to collective defense, crisis management, and collective security, taking on more out of area operations in new locations across the Eurasian super continent – such as in the Balkans and Afghanistan. The title of this report, “Towards a Strategic Concept,” makes clear its objective. The 12 members of this Task Force have drawn on their own areas of interest and specialization to make a limited set of recommendations towards a new NATO strategic concept for the next decade. To tackle this broad issue, we have divided our report into three geographical areas that will have a significant impact on NATO in the coming decades (West Eurasia, Mid-Eurasia, and East Eurasia) with a final section dedicated to discussions of emerging issues affecting the globe – such as climate change and cybersecurity.