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351. Hybrid Threats and the Development of NATO´s New Operational Concept

Author:
Ján Spiák and Milan Kubea
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Obrana a strategie (Defence & Strategy)
Institution:
University of Defence
Abstract:
The article deals with aspects of the new emerging security challenges that military experts define as “hybrid threats”. They have arised from methods of insurgency and asymmetric warfare, and as a step-child of the 4th generation warfare constitute significant challenge for the Alliance and its global interests. Experience from current operations has demonstrated that these enemies can conduct hostile actions through broad array of conventional or non-conventional means, methods and procedures, having a favorable outcome even against the NATO force that is superior technologically and militarily. Cognition of the scale and complexity of these threats lead Alliance representatives to the development of an overarching operational concept for the NATO Military Contribution to Countering Hybrid Threats (MCCHT). This concept, still in draft, illustrates the unique challenges posed by current and future hybrid threats, and explains why these challenges may require NATO to adapt its strategy, structure and capabilities for the next twenty years.
Topic:
NATO

352. U.S. Missile Defence Site in Europe as an Aliance Security Dilemma

Author:
Lukáš KANTOR
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Obrana a strategie (Defence & Strategy)
Institution:
University of Defence
Abstract:
The main aim of this article is to provide a more solid theoretical anchor for numerous past and present debates about the various versions of American missile defence in Europe. The author claims that the neo-realism's concept of alliance security dilemma is the most appropriate framework for Czech, Polish, Romanian, and EU-wide experts'reflections and political decisions regarding the possible accepting of elements of American or NATO missile defence. Under appreciated explanatory power of the concept of the alliance's security dilemma is illustrated in the text on the case of the original Bush's plan of the so-called third pillar in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, America, Europe, Poland, Rome, and Czech Republic

353. Peace and Development Efforts in Afghanistan: A Lost Decade

Author:
Patryk Kugiel
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
When international intervention put an end to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in late 2001 thousands of Afghans went out to the streets to celebrate a new beginning. After 20 years of bloody civil wars in the country, many had hoped that a new era of stability and prosperity was about to begin. The devastating terrorist attacks in the U.S., which brought the international coalition to Afghanistan, was seen as a guarantee that the West would not abandon the country before it was put back in order. Afghanistan could have been a model of post-conflict reconstruction.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, NATO, War, Law Enforcement, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and United States

354. Willing and (un)able. New Defence Policy Guidelines and Reorientation of the Bundeswehr

Author:
Ryszarda Formuszewicz and Marcin Terlikowski.
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
On 18 May, after two and a half months in office, defence Minister Thomas de Maizière presented updated cornerstones of the ongoing Bundeswehr reform, which has been rebranded as a “reorientation” (Neujustierung). On the same day, new Defence Policy Guidelines (DPG) were published, replacing the previous document of 2003. The core message directed to internal public opinion and to international partners both disappointed and displeased with Germany's troubled record in the security policy domain is laid out in the title of the DPG: “Safeguarding National Interests – Assuming International Responsibility – Shaping Security Together.” The DPG delivered a conceptual foundation for the armed forces' transformation process, which will now be based on defined security policy assumptions—a feature lacking in the original reform announced in 2010 under the pressure of a financial consolidation plan. The document is both an outcome of the deteriorating German stance on the international security stage and an opportunity to push Berlin on the road towards assuming a new, more visible role, as a security actor.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and NATO
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Europe, and Asia

355. E Pluribus Unum: 21st-Century Citizenship and the Somali-American Experience

Author:
Owen Truesdell
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
This moment in American history represents a confluence of major national and international events almost unparalleled in modern history. The United States faces two major wars, a massive and seemingly intractable recession that has robbed many of its citizens of their livelihoods and savings, and a sclerotic system of American government that seems to have lost its ability to take on and overcome big challenges for the good of the American people. Internationally, the “Arab Spring” in the Middle East has led to the toppling of feckless dictators and a move toward democracy in Egypt. However, it has also led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, further political repression in certain parts of the region, and a civil war in Libya, which also features military action by NATO and the United States and its Arab and Western allies. This chaotic and troubling time presents numerous challenges for the United States and the world.
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
United States, America, Middle East, Libya, Arabia, Egypt, and Somalia

356. Global Warming and Security: The Security Implications for NATO and the EU of a Melting Polar Ice Cap in the High North.

Author:
Udo Michel
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Environmental changes will have an impact on global and regional security communities.This article will examine the security challenges posed by the melting of the polar ice cap in the High North. Many NATO and EU members have manifest interests in this region, and parts of the Arctic belong to the NATO treaty area. Offi cial documents, political statements, and actions already taken show that the most of the Nordic countries address the effects of climate change on their region's security in specifi c policies and national security concepts. Moscow has sparked concerns in the West with displays of its will and capabilities-for example, fl ying strategic bomber patrols over the Arctic, or the hoisting the Russian fl ag on the sea bed below the North Pole. Despite a high degree of media awareness and intensive public discussions about spheres of infl uence and a possible return to classical geopolitics, both NATO and the EU try to avoid sending signals that would indicate that they regard regional security questions in the Arctic as a matter of deep concern or urgency. The motivation behind this article is to investigate this disconnect, to explain it, and todraw conclusions that argue for or against changes in the present posture. If their affected members states do not securitize the threats and vulnerabilities related to themelting polar ice cap in the High North within the organizations, NATO and the EUwill lack the incentive and legitimacy to adapt their security policies and strategies inorder to address the evolving situation.
Topic:
Security and NATO

357. The Role of Parliaments in Arms Control, Disarmament, and the Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Author:
Marc Finaud
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
From 30 March to 1 April 2011, a high-level workshop was organized for parliamentarians from countries belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Partnership for Peace (PfP). The topic of this event was “The Role of Parliaments in Arms Control, Disarmament, and the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)”. It was a joint initiative of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and the WMD Non-Proliferation Centre of NATO. Some thirty-five parliamentarians (including several former government ministers) from twenty-three countries attended the workshop along with the same number of staffers, government representatives, and independent experts.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and NATO
Political Geography:
Europe

358. Increasing Outreach, Public Understanding and Support for NATO across the Transatlantic Community

Author:
Kurt Volker
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Fixing NATO's public support problem requires the personal commitment of allied leaders (from Prime Ministers on down); tough decisions on resources, capabilities, and operations in order to restore NATO's credibility; and identifying how NATO's actions directly improve the lives of citizens in NATO countries. NATO must be seen as addressing the right issues, successfully, in a way that citizens of allied countries would feel proud to say "This is My NATO."
Topic:
NATO, Diplomacy, International Cooperation, and Reform
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Europe

359. Future Options for NATO Nuclear Policy

Author:
Jeffrey A. Larsen
Publication Date:
08-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
NATO released a new Strategic Concept in November 2010 that maintained its traditional call for continued reliance on nuclear weapons as the ultimate guarantor of its security. But finalizing that document was not easy. Several compromises took place at the Lisbon Summit, including a decision by the Alliance to conduct a Deterrence and Defense Posture Review (DDPR) by 2012. In addition, the allies chose not to repeat some key wording that had remained unchanged since it was introduced in the 1991 Strategic Concept that the Alliance would "maintain adequate sub-strategic nuclear forces based in Europe." This may provide a political opening for the Alliance to eliminate forward-deployed US nuclear weapons in Europe, should it decide to do so. This brief examines options for NATO nuclear deterrence and assurance policy if that occurs.
Topic:
Security, NATO, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
Europe and North America

360. Learning from Libya: The Right Lessons for NATO

Author:
Damon M. Wilson
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
As Qaddafi's regime crumbles and Libyan rebels assume the mantle of governance, many are bemoaning rather than celebrating the role of NATO in the Libyan revolution. As the Alliance winds down its military campaign and contemplates next steps, now is the time to draw lessons from what worked and what did not, and to prepare to act on these lessons in time for NATO's next summit in Chicago in May 2012.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Diplomacy, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Africa, Libya, North Africa, and Chicago