NATO’s Strategic Concept defines the security challenges facing the Alliance and outlines the political and military tasks that NATO will carry out to address them.

NATO’s

STRATEGIC CONCEPT

The 2022 Strategic Concept was adopted at the Madrid Summit, 29-30 June 2022. Learn more about NATO’s enduring purpose and its fundamental security tasks.

DOWNLOAD THE 2022 STRATEGIC CONCEPT

The Strategic Concept’s

KEY ASPECTS

° The Alliance’s key purpose and greatest responsibility is to ensure the collective defence of Allies. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty remains the bedrock of Allied collective defence.

° NATO’s three core tasks are deterrence and defence; crisis prevention and management; and cooperative security.

Continue reading NATO 2022 Strategic Concept →

President Biden

@POTUS United States government official

Earlier this year, the U.S. surged 20,000 additional U.S. forces to Europe to strengthen our NATO Alliance in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the changing security environment. We’ll continue to adjust our posture to ensure the defense of our Allies:

We’re working with Spain to increase U.S. Navy destroyers in Rota, establishing a permanent HQ in Poland, putting an additional rotational Brigade Combat Team in Romania, enhancing our Baltic presence, and sending two more F-35 squadrons to the UK.

NATO is ready to meet threats from all directions, across every domain: land, air, sea, cyber and space.

Top of the Agenda China’s Xi Visits Hong Kong, Praises Its ‘Rise From Ashes’Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Hong Kong for ceremonies marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the city’s handover from British rule. He said Hong Kong has “risen from the ashes” (SCMP) since his last visit in 2017. Since then, Beijing has cracked down on dissent and independent media in the city. While Xi’s 2017 visit was followed by a pro-democracy march (Bloomberg), Hong Kong’s streets have been empty of demonstrations this week because of the sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020 and warnings from police. It is Xi’s first trip outside mainland China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The anniversary also marks the halfway point of a promise Beijing made to maintain liberal institutions in Hong Kong for fifty years. The United States and United Kingdom have accused Beijing of breaking the promise.

Continue reading CFR Daily News Brief June 30, 2022 →

FP – JUNE 30, 2022

NATO leaders emerged from their summit in Madrid this week touting a more muscular alliance ready to face down Russia and start tackling the long-term challenges from China. And it’s starting to look like they finally have plans in place to put their money where their mouths are.

Continue reading ‘Thanks, Putin’: Defense spending spikes across NATO →

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2022 Resilient Democracies Statement

Elmau, 27 June 2022

We, the Leaders of Germany, Argentina, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union, affirm our commitment to strengthening the resilience of our democracies and to working towards equitable, inclusive and sustainable solutions to global challenges, including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, and reaffirm our commitment to
the rules-based international order.

Continue reading  The G7 Leaders – along with the leaders of Argentina, India, Indonesia, Senegal, and South Africa – released a statement on Democratic Resilience →

 

Top of the Agenda U.S., NATO Strengthen Military Presence in Europe U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States will send more troops and weapons (FT) to Europe as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense buildup over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Washington will establish a new permanent army headquarters in Poland, send five thousand additional troops to Romania, and up its deployments in the Baltic states. NATO is seeking a response force of three hundred thousand troops, a sevenfold increase (Politico) from the current level. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the announcements the biggest overhaul of NATO defenses since the end of the Cold War. Meanwhile, Turkey dropped its veto (Al Jazeera) on Finland’s and Sweden’s applications for NATO membership after the countries committed to toughening their approaches to groups Turkey views as threats.

Continue reading CFR Daily News Brief June 29, 2022 →

JUNE 28, 2022•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES The White House

Today President Biden met with G7 leaders to strengthen our cooperation on economic issues, cyberspace and quantum, and other 21^st century challenges, including those posed by China to our workers, companies, and national security. The G7, representing over 50% of the world economy, is demonstrating that it is among the most potent institutions in the world today, with like-minded democracies solving problems.  

Committing to a unified approach to confront China’s unfair economic practices:  The G7 will release collective, unprecedented language acknowledging the harms caused by the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) non-transparent, market-distorting industrial directives. They will commit to working together to develop a coordinated approach to remedy the PRC’s non-market policies and practices to ensure a level playing field for businesses and workers. 

Continue reading FACT SHEET: The United States Continues to Strengthen Cooperation with G7 on 21st Century Challenges, including those Posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) →

JUNE 26, 2022•The White House STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

The Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment will deliver game-changing projects to close the infrastructure gap in developing countries, strengthen the global economy and supply chains, and advance U.S. national security 
 
President Biden will announce new flagship projects and lay out the Administration’s comprehensive effort to execute the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.

At the 2021 G7 Summit, President Biden and G7 leaders announced their intent to develop a values-driven, high-impact, and transparent infrastructure partnership to meet the enormous infrastructure needs of low- and middle-income countries and support the United States’ and its allies’ economic and national security interests. Over the past year, members of the Administration have traveled to hear directly from countries on how we can meet their infrastructure needs, deepened our coordination across the U.S Government and with the G7, honed our infrastructure investment tools, and closed game-changing deals.

Continue reading FACT SHEET: President Biden and G7 Leaders Formally Launch the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment →

Analysis by Nic Robertson, CNN International Diplomatic Editor

Updated 0405 GMT (1205 HKT) June 25, 2022 CNN

Flags representing the G7 Summit, Germany and the European Union fly ahead of the summit, scheduled to take place at Schloss Elmau in Germany’s Bavaria region from June 26 to 28.

(CNN)What a difference a year makes. Enormous challenges, some of them barely imaginable when the G7 leaders last met 12 months ago, are bearing down on the world’s most prosperous democratic nations as they prepare to meet in Germany.

Optimism was in the air at the Cornish beach resort of Carbis Bay in 2021 as the G7‘s presidents, prime ministers and chancellor met face-to-face for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Together they vowed to “beat Covid-19 and build back better,” to “reinvigorate economies,” to “protect our planet” and to “strengthen partnerships.”

But global events have since overtaken their best efforts, and it is far from clear if they will be able to build on those goals this year. Russia’s unprompted invasion of Ukraine is a large and singular cloud, but other thunderheads are gathering too.

Zelensky will address G7 and NATO summits

Over the next few days, the leaders of Japan, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the European Union and host Germany will meet amid the seclusion of Bavaria’s luxurious Schloss Elmau retreat.

Continue reading World leaders are facing crises on all fronts. Putin will be watching if they fail →

foreignpolicy – JUNE 16, 2022, 5:16 PM

A 10-day world tour ended with a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

By Jack Detsch, Foreign Policy’s Pentagon and national security reporter, and Robbie Gramer, a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. 

BRUSSELS—NATO nations are preparing to significantly bulk up the 30-country alliance’s forces in Eastern Europe, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said today, part of a plan to stand tall in the face of Russia’s military revanchism as Europe faces its most serious security threat from the Kremlin since the Cold War with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia’s aggression is a game-changer, so NATO must maintain credible deterrence and strong defense,” Stoltenberg said.

“This will mean more NATO forward-deployed combat formations to strengthen our battlegroups in the eastern part of our alliance. More air, sea, and cyber defenses, as well as prepositioned equipment and weapon stockpiles,” he added.

Continue reading Biden’s Defense Chief Puts Alliances at Center Stage of U.S. Defense →

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People look at destroyed buildings in Irpin, outside Kyiv, as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine continues, June 9, 2022. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File Photo

Reuters

PARIS/BERLIN/WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) – Is it better to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine or to isolate him? Should Kyiv make concessions to end the war, or would that embolden the Kremlin? Are ramped up sanctions on Russia worth the collateral damage?

These are some of the questions testing the international alliance that swiftly rallied around Ukraine in the days after the Russian invasion but that, three months into the war, is straining, officials and diplomats told Reuters.

Continue reading What next? Ukraine’s allies divided over Russia endgame →

Kleptocracy in Russia has thrived thanks to the complicity of advanced economies, who are now waking up to its dangers

Image: ev / Unsplash

transparency.org – 04 March 2022

In the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the international community is scrambling to deter President Vladimir Putin and his cronies – and to help end the military aggression as soon as possible.

Among other measures, European Union member countries, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States have all announced targeted sanctions against Kremlin-linked individuals and businesses – many of whom are suspected of large-scale corruption.

In a kleptocratic system such as today’s Russia, going after the elites can be meaningful. The vast wealth that Russian kleptocrats have amassed – and continue to enjoy – has helped President Putin tighten his grip on power, exert illicit influence over the affairs of other nations and embolden his geopolitical ambitions.

Continue reading Countering Russia’s kleptocrats: What the West’s response to the assault on Ukraine should look like →

For the first time in years, its role has become a topic of furious debate. But what do we talk about when we talk about Nato? 

Written by Thomas Meaney, read by Simon Vance and produced by Jessica Beck. Executive producer was Max Sanderson

Mon 16 May 2022 05.00 BST

• Read text version here
• Listen here

Continue reading How Putin’s invasion returned Nato to the centre stage – podcast →

Council on Foreign Relations: Monitor World Conflicts

The Global Conflict Tracker identifies conflicts around the world, follows their evolution, and assesses their impact on U.S. national security. Our newly redesigned and expertly researched tool from CFR’s Center for Preventive Action includes live data, background information, the latest developments, and critical resources to provide insight on the world’s strife.

Explore the Immersive Map

Conflict in Ukraine Conflict status: Worsening Russia’s military invasion risks a wider European conflict. Stay up to date.

War in Afghanistan Conflict status: Worsening Decades of instability continue amid the 2021 Taliban takeover. Read about the history.

North Korea Crisis Conflict status: Unchanging The nation’s leader continues to provoke a global crisis with his nuclear ambitions. Learn about attempts at rapprochement.

Conflict with Al-Shabab Conflict status: Unchanging Up to 450 U.S. troops return to Somalia for a mission against the al-Qaeda affiliate. Stay current.

Monitor Conflicts and Their Effects

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Opinion by Jane Greenway Carr

Updated 1734 GMT (0134 HKT) May 22, 2022, CNN

(CNN) Shortly after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison wrote in The New Yorker: “Unlike any nation in Europe, the United States holds whiteness as the unifying force. Here, for many people, the definition of ‘Americanness’ is color.” Reflecting on efforts — largely by White men — to define themselves by sustaining that poisonous definition, Morrison argues that those “who are prepared to abandon their humanity out of fear of black men and women, suggest the true horror of lost status.”

Continue reading What a Nobel laureate’s take on Donald Trump reveals about today →