Task Force: 
NATO's New Strategic Concept

 

Task Force Report
Expert Evaluation Presentation
Task Force Poster

In November of 2010 NATO will conclude a multi-year public process of formulating a “new strategic concept.” The question before this Task Force is whether the Obama Administration should seek an endorsement of this concept from the US Congress and include the NATO concept in the next iteration of the U.S. National Security Strategy. If not, the Task Force is obligated to produce a document of its own to guide U.S. policy on the future of NATO. Some of the questions that may be addressed include: the role of NATO in Afghanistan and the greater Central Asia/South Asian region; how to deal with the threat of international terrorism; NATO’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute; the possible development of nuclear weapons by Iran; whether to deploy a NATO missile defense system for Europe; whether to add as NATO members countries such as Georgia and Ukraine; how to manage NATO-Russia relations; where and by whom NATO’s armory should be produced; differences in attitudes between U.S. and European NATO members on issues such as inclusion of GLBT personnel in military forces and the alleged growing gap between civilian and military culture in the U.S.; and the pressure on financially-strapped European governments to maintain current budgets and force levels.

 


 

Task Force Instructor

Professor Chris Jones

Christopher Jones is Associate Professor at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and Co-Director of the UW's Institute for Global and Regional Security Studies. Previous books include Soviet Influence in Eastern Europe, and (with Teresa Raknowska Harmstone, co-editor), The Warsaw Pact: The Question of Cohesion, Vols. I, I. III.

 

Expert Evaluator

Ambassador Robert Hunter

Robert Hunter, U.S. Ambassador to NATO under President Clinton (1993-98) and U.S. rep-resentative to the Western European Union; a principal architect of the "New NATO," leading the North Atlantic Council in implementing decisions of the 1994 and 1997 NATO Summits and in obtaining air-strike decisions that halted the Bosnia war. Senior Concept Developer to NATO's Allied Command Transformation; Senior Advisory Panel, US European Command; Academic Advisory Board, NATO Defense College. Chairman, Council for a Community of Democracies. Foreign policy advisor to Senator Edward Kennedy and foreign and domestic policy advisor to Vice President Humphrey. Served on White House staff in the Johnson administration (health, education, welfare, labor) and in the U.S. Department of the Navy on the Polaris project. Senior Fellow at Overseas Development Council; Research Associate, International Institute for Strategic Studies; Lecturer at London School of Economics; Professorial Lec¬turer at Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins (SAIS), and George Washington University. Louis L. Goldstein Chair, Washington College.

 

Editors
 

Evan Wyse

Major: International Studies
I am interested in America's security policy in general as an increasingly important part of our foreign policy strategy. I have taken several classes in nuclear nonproliferation and export controls, and completed an internship last summer at PNNL dedicated towards improving the international nuclear safeguards regime. I also speak Arabic and have a fairly solid background in the Middle East. I am currently using these skills to provide recommendations on NATO's response to terrorism.

Ryan Braun

Major: International Studies
NATO is an interesting international construct, and I am drawn to these non-state bodies which have so much influence in the world. I am interested in the existing structures within NATO, and hopefully those which will be implemented later to allow NATO to provide a new and important security role within the world. With the end of the Cold War NATO lost its original mission, and now must craft a new one. With European Union and NATO expansion often going hand in hand we have a unique chance to create a new body beyond the nation-state, something which can better compete in an ever more interconnected world.

Coordinator

Chloe Jackson 

Major: International Studies Track: Political Economy
Minor: Education, Learning and Societies
My study aboard experience in Berlin, Germany has most shaped my college experience and the choices I have made after. Outside of school, I used to work in a downtown law firm called Thomas & Delay, and I interned over the summer at the World Affairs Council. I am currently a Marketing & Events Intern at the University Village management office. I really enjoy the innovation and responsibility my current job gives me. In June I will be moving to Chicago to work with the Teach for America Corps in early childhood education.

 Task Force Members

Lisa Bergstrom
Major: International Studies
I am a junior on the Russian, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia track with a focus on Russian studies, arms control, nonproliferation, and other international security issues. I hope to have a career supporting US-Russian cooperation on international security, especially cooperation through science and technology. I have little background in NATO in particular, but I have taken many classes on and have read much about security, Europe, and Cold War history. My task force paper is on potential NATO-Russian missile defense cooperation and its implications for relations between Russia and the West. I chose this topic because it is vital to nuclear arms control and Russia’s foreign policy.
Kelsey Bourn
Major: International Studies
Minor: Italian
I am researching the relationship between the United States and the NATO Alliance through their efforts in international peace and security. I plan on exploring the different perspectives and intellectual frameworks in America that influence foreign policy and ultimately, the effectiveness of NATO. By understanding the current political debate within the U.S. I hope to form my own educated position on what role the U.S. should have in the international world; one more interested in a strong leadership position or one willing to step back and contribute more to multilateral cooperatives.
Aiden Duffy
Major: International Studies
I am interested in researching and providing recommendations for NATO's policies related to cyber defense. Cyber warfare is a unique issue for the defense community's agenda because of its extremely low barrier to entry and potentially high 'return on investment' for any given opponent. I am personally fascinated with the way technology is changing virtually every aspect of society and am looking forward to examining its role on the international scale.
Gabrielle Gurian
Majors: International Studies and Spanish
I am researching NATO’s security considerations in the Balkans. I will be looking at each country specifically, with a focus on Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia, to better understand why the Balkans are a security priority for Europe and for NATO, the progress made and the challenges the region poses. I am interested in exploring NATO’s involvement in the area and whether the Alliance has successfully been able to assist the Balkans in political, social and economic reform, and most importantly promote cooperation between the conflicting ethnic minorities.
Paige Irwin
Major: International Studies Track: Human Rights
Minor: African Studies
With Human Rights as my IS track, I have focused my studies on critically understanding human rights work in practice. As part of this Task Force, I am interested in exploring how long-standing, and sometimes problematic, institutionalized approaches to human rights can be redesigned and applied in new ways to more effectively promote social justice through economic, social and cultural rights.
Lindsay Jackson
Majors: International Studies, Global Health
Minor: Geography
I am interested in learning how NATO can redefine security to better emphasize and include human rights beyond the military. In our current interconnected global system human rights plays a vital role in security by providing alternatives and opportunities to people. There are many different definitions of security and we must come to terms on an agreement to develop a common language that conceptualizes human rights in security that will increase cooperation and global partnerships. International security and global stability cannot be ensured only by force.
Kenny Li
Major: International Studies
Minor: Education
I am interested in the idea of a Global NATO. The world’s longest-running military alliance has evolved greatly since the end of the Cold War. The September 11 attacks remind us of the growing necessity to rethink security and collective defense. Through this task force I hope to explore the possibilities of different memberships to NATO.
Jessica Puckett
Majors: International Studies and Geography
My work in the Task Force revolves around how transnational threats to energy security, as well as climate security will be addressed in the 21st century through NATO. NATO represents a unique community of values on the international landscape. These values—individual liberty, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law—have served NATO well as it took on security challenges of the 20th century. The emerging energy related security threats of the 21st century will not be easily resolved, but NATO is well endowed with the human and intellectual capital that will be essential for success. My other research interests include piracy, demography, migration and population displacement, development, and good governance. Born and raised in Louisiana, I moved to Seattle to study at the Jackson School of International Studies.

Julia Rundberg
Majors: International Studies, Swedish
I am interested in looking at NATO's relationship with non-member countries like Sweden because I think this is a good way to understand both the scope and influence of NATO. I think it is important to see NATO as an organization that not only has an impact on the countries within the organization but also on countries outside NATO. Sweden's relationship with NATO is interesting to me because while NATO would greatly appreciate having Sweden as a member, Sweden's non-alignment policy makes membership impossible.
Bianca Smoker
Major: International Studies Track: Latin America
I am exploring the concept of "security" for this Task Force, and how the meaning of this word has changed since the inception of NATO. Too often throughout its existence, security has been addressed as a militaristic issue, while other aspects of global security have been left out of the discussion. In addition, over the 60-year period in which NATO has operated, the structure of the world system has shifted from the U.S.-Soviet dichotomy that once existed, and this must be taken into account as "security threats" are confronted, which take on new forms every day in our 21st century world.
Yu Ling Tong
Majors: International Studies, Communication
I am interested in the cultural diversity. I believe culture is a big part of international studies, and hence I want to learn what cultural diversity may possibly affect the NATO development. I was born in China and grew up in Hong Kong and came to the United States when I was 18 that make me very aware of the cultural impact.
Kelli Wells
Major: International Studies
I am researching private security companies and its use by NATO forces in the past as well as possible uses in the future. NATO is an organization with social capital, a reputation of trust and historically unprecedented institutions that have dealt with new problems. I am studying the challenges and difficulties that NATO may encounter when applying these private military contractors in their agenda.

 

 

Center for Global Studies
International Studies Program
University of Washington
Box 353650
Seattle, WA 98195
(206) 685-2707
(206) 685-0668 fax
►cgsuw@uw.edu

Sara R. Curran
Program Chair
(206) 543-6479
►scurran@uw.edu

Wolfram Latsch
Associate Program Chair
(206) 543-7196
►latsch@uw.edu

Jane Meyerding
Program Coordinator
(206) 685-2707
►mjane@uw.edu