Publication

At their meeting in Lisbon, the heads of state and government of NATO members not only approved a new Strategic Concept, but also passed seminal decisions on a missile defence capability for the entire alliance, on partnership with Russia, and on the future of the engagement in Afghanistan. Since the end of the Cold War and the subsequent transformation of the international system, no NATO summit has demonstrated a comparable degree of internal unity and outward determination. The programme is an exceptionally ambitious one. This is precisely why it is in danger of failing in the mid- to long-term.