ASSESSMENTS

Placing NATO’s New Strategic Concept in Context

Jun 30, 2022 | 20:52 GMT

Heads of state pose for a group photo at the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, on June 29, 2022.

Heads of state pose for a group photo at the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, on June 29, 2022.

(CHRISTOPHE ENA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

NATO’s first update to its Strategic Concept in 12 years underscores the foundational shifts in the Western security alliance’s priorities and threat perceptions as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, China expands its reach in Asia, and temperatures rise across the world. On June 29, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) unveiled its new Strategic Concept outlining the alliance’s guiding principles, purpose and goals. The document, which was last updated in 2010, identifies Russia as “the most significant and direct threat” to NATO members’ peace and security amid Moscow’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine. NATO lists China as a strategic “challenge” for the first time as well, citing Beijing’s “coercive policies.”...

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