NATO’s search for a new Stategic Concept is motivated, in part, by a need to tailor its policies and activities to the changing security environment of the twenty-first century.
Key Questions:
- What are the most pertinent new and emerging security threats facing Serbia in the next decade?
- How must NATO adjust and adapt in order to meet the security challenges of the twenty-first century?
- Should NATO remain a collective defence actor or should it be transformed into a global security provider?
- How important is comprehensive security cooperation in confronting twenty-first century security threats?
Background
Since 1999, when the current Strategic Concept was devised, the concept of security has expanded dramatically to include threats that affect not only the military, but also the political, economic and social spheres. Of course, NATO policy planning has not remained stagnant in the meantime – the responses to new security challenges have been adapted to reflect the complexity of modern security threats, such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cyber-warfare, energy dependency, piracy, humanitarian disasters and food scarcity. In the past decade, however, the world has witnessed remarkable technological developments that have facilitated the creation of an interconnected, globalised world; one confronted with a range of new and emerging security threats and challenges. In general, the strategic environment of today is unprecedented in terms of its complexity and unpredictability.
As we confront these new challenges, we have to bear in mind that NATO, as well as other international institutions, and individual states in particular, are limited in terms of their resources and capabilities. All these actors therefore have to rethink their respective roles, potentials, capacities and objectives, and to commit themselves to continuous evolution and transformation. NATO’s search for a new Strategic Concept is motivated, in part, by this need to tailor its policies and activities to the ever-evolving security environment of the twenty-first century. Serbia’s own approach to security considerations needs to be motivated by similar a awareness and acknowledgement of changed and changing circumstances.
Further Reading:
- Weapons of Mass Destruction (pdf)
- Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in NATO
- NATO’s Role in Conventional Arms Control
- Small Arms and Light Weapons and Mine Action
- The Mechanics of Terrorism
- Response to Terrorism (pdf) | (html)
- NATO and the Fight Against Terrorism
- Defence against Terrorism (DAT) Programme
- The Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism
- Counter-piracy Operations
- Defending Against Cyber Attacks
- NATO Policy on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact TransConflict Serbia at the following e-mail address – office@transconflict.com
The ‘Facilitating Serbia’s Contribution to NATO’s New Strategic Concept’ project has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
