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NATO’s Strategic Concept: Three Do’s and Don’ts

Euro Atlantic

The new Strategic Concept must clarify the tasks that NATO should undertake in the great-power competition with, and defense of common values against, Russia and China, argues Henrik Larsen in this CSS Policy Perspective.

by Rena Uphoff
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a virtual meeting with the NATO 2030 Reflection Group on 8 April 2020. nato.int

Key Points:

  • The Strategic Concept should concentrate on military burden sharing to improve alliance cohesion rather than on the condemnation of allies’ democratic shortcomings.
  • The concept should tie resilience to collective defense and national security but not extend into an area like ordinary law enforcement.
  • The concept should state NATO’s ambition to define gold standards for new technology but refrain from “going global”.

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