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3141. NATO's Eastern Flank: Retooling the US-Baltic Security Link

Author:
Andris Banka
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
In recent years NATO has markedly increased its presence in the Baltic states. Relatively “light”, yet highly diverse multinational forces have been placed across the Alliance’s frontline with an underly- ing objective: to deter Russia. In this effort, the United States has served as a critical ballast. The Pentagon has directed sophisticated military exercises and rotated US service members throughout the region. These mea- sures, however, often did not align with US President Donald Trump’s spoken words nor written tweets. This obvious dichotomy disoriented Allied governments and shook bedrock assumptions about US security commitments. As political power changes hands in Washington, this lends an opportunity for a retooling of the transatlantic partnership. Domestically, incoming US President Joe Biden ran on the platform “Build Back Better”. In the spirit of that slogan, this Policy Brief lays out policy cor- rectives that both sides of the Atlantic could pursue to strengthen the US-Baltic security link.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, NATO, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, and Military Strategy
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

3142. Central European Security: History and Geography Matter

Author:
Marcin Zaborowski
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The post-Cold War enlargements have changed the Alliance, its geopolitics and the definition of its purpose, which is no longer limited to deterring against threats to Allies’ territory. Enlarge- ments have also redefined the security and defence policies of the new member states, by transforming their armed forces, civil military relationships and im- pacting their defence industries. The states that joined NATO since 1989 are usually categorized as Central Europe or Central and East- ern Europe. Within this Central European realm of new member states, one can distinguish between the North-East, the Centre, the South-East, and the West- ern Balkans. All states in these groupings were com- munist prior to the end of the Cold War. Today, with the Cold War fast becoming a faded memory, Central Europeans tend to define their security needs with in- creasing divergence, with major repercussions on their defence policies, in spite of their belonging to the same Alliance. This Policy Brief maps out Central Europe by identifying groups of states in the region and looking at defence policy divergences. It focuses on a number of indicators, such as defence spending, acquisition of defence equipment and attitudes towards hosting for- eign NATO troops on their soil.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Post Cold War
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

3143. The Strategic Argument for a Political NATO

Author:
Heather A Conley
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The 1949 Washington Treaty is a remarkably brief document consisting of a preamble and 14 articles. The Treaty describes only the po- litical commitments and obligations of the signato- ries. It does not articulate a requirement for NATO members to spend a certain amount of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense nor does it specify the military capabilities that a NATO member must possess to defend the Alliance. From 1949 to the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO was the singular locus of geopolitical discus- sion between North America and Europe. These were not easy discussions, yet the Alliance weathered strident policy and geopolitical policy differences. NATO also endured its members temporarily ceasing to be democracies due to military coups or concern about Communist influence on NATO governments. With a political body standing on the shoulders of a credible military deterrence, Allies were able to deploy creative problem-solving skills to bridge political dif- ferences, such as the policy innovation of deterrence and détente, while pursuing other, quieter methods, such as the temporary suspension of sharing sensitive intelligence from compromised NATO governments. Unfortunately, NATO’s centrality as a political forum greatly diminished after the Cold War as the Alliance reduced its political consultations in a less demanding geopolitical environment. Despite occa- sional interruptions of intense political discussion re- lated to conflict in the Balkans and the September 11th attacks, US retrenchment, combined with Europe’s inward focus, minimized NATO as a political forum. NATO was increasingly consumed by tactical decisions on out-of-area operations and transatlantic policy divisions over the Iraq War which fueled both Europe’s desire for greater autonomy and America’s questioning of the military utility of its Allies. NATO leaders substituted tactical – albeit important – military decisions regard- ing troop contributions, placement, and caveats as a substitute for political discussion. This political drift has now become so great that NATO members have begun to withhold support for the defensive planning of other Allies and new disputes between NATO members have the potential to escalate.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Grand Strategy
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

3144. The Global Dimensions of NATO's Future Posture

Author:
Michael Clarke
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
NATO has always been an important player in global politics. It is in the nature of the Alli- ance that its essential military missions were always carefully defined and its geographical boundar- ies strictly set by the collective defence commitments among its members. Nevertheless, NATO’s role as a politico-military institution among the great powers of the Cold War ensured it would always be global- ly significant. It could not have been otherwise. This remains as much the case – though now in different ways – as we consider the international environment taking shape for the 2030s. In this new environment the unavoidable global responsibilities of being a regional military alliance can be summarised in three ways; looking at NATO’s role in helping western powers defend their wider interests in the multi-polar world; helping meet the pseudo-ideological challenges posed by the rise of autocracies; and contributing to issues of the “global commons”.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

3145. Jihadi Radicalization: Between the Local and the Global

Author:
Olivier Roy
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Any counter-terrorist policy should be shaped according to the nature of the threat. For an alliance like NATO, it is particularly import- ant to distinguish the fundamental characteristics of global movements from local terrorist entities. Whilst global jihadi propaganda and Islamist ideology still represent a significant danger, in many instances, it is the local dynamics that prevail. Complex NATO operations – designed to prevent, stabilize or rebuild – must be framed and designed accordingly.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Globalization, Regional Cooperation, Terrorism, Military Strategy, Radicalization, Local, and Jihad
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

3146. Net Assessment: "Competition Is For Losers"

Author:
Andrea Gilli
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Under the guidance of the Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in 2020 NATO embarked on a reflection process aimed at equipping the Alliance for the challenges of 2030.1 Composed of several parts, actors and phases, the process ul- timately aims to make NATO more relevant in the years ahead when technological disruption, climate change, competition among Great Powers and vio- lent non-state actors will pose new and major threats. Ideas, proposals, and recommendations are coming in from within and from outside the Alliance. Inter- estingly, among the recommendations, several voices have called for NATO to expand its net assessment capabilities.2 For most observers, even in the security and defence world, net assessment is an esoteric word. While many may have heard of Andrew Marshall and the US Department of Defense’s Office of Net As- sessment, most would probably struggle to define the term. This Policy Brief provides a short introduction to the topic: what is net assessment, how and why has it emerged, how reliable is it and how could NATO use it?
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

3147. NATO, Strategy, and Net Assessment

Author:
Niccolo Petrelli
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
In late 2020, analysts recommended for the first time the establishment within NATO of a net assessment (NA) capability to deal with an in- creasingly complex strategic environment.1 The same recommendation was reiterated in the NATO 2030 report to address the problem of “strategic simultane- ity”: i.e. the emergence of multiple, simultaneous and interconnected threats. According to the Reflection Group appointed by the Secretary General, “NATO should consider creating a new net assessment office [...] with the mission of examining NATO’s strate- gic environment on the basis of agreed threats and challenges across the whole spectrum of military and non-military tools. [...] A net assessment function [...] would bring a systematic methodology distinct from horizon scanning. It would exist to analyse the organisation’s strengths and options [...]”.2 The term NA was first coined in the US during the early 1970s by national security official Andrew W. Marshall to refer to a constellation of concepts and techniques for evaluating relative power. In West- ern usage, however, and for some decades now, it has been employed in a broader sense to denote the function of combining the appreciation of one’s own strength against that of one’s opponents in interna- tional affairs at the highest level.
Topic:
NATO, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Grand Strategy
Political Geography:
Europe, North Atlantic, and North America

3148. Bogotá también es Región: Gobernanza Multinivel, Policentrismo y Nuevos Retos de la Planeación Regional en la década de 2020

Author:
Sergio Montero, Claudia Hoshino, Edgar Cataño, and Carmenza Saldías
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
En Colombia, la Ley Orgánica de Ordenamiento Territorial (LOOT, Ley 1454, 2011) orientó al gobierno nacional a promover la conformación de figuras asociativas territoriales en el país como una manera de profundizar la descentralización administrativa. La constitución de la RAPE Región Central en el 2014, como resultado de un proceso de concertación territorial entre el Distrito Capital y los departamentos de Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Meta y Tolima, planteó un importante hito de la descentralización territorial en Colombia. El Acto Legislativo 02 de 2020 que llevará a la creación de la Región Metropolitana Bogotá-Cundinamarca (RMBC) presenta un reto en términos de clarificar y evitar funciones cruzadas entre la RAPE Región Central y la futura RMBC. Por otro lado, la emergencia sanitaria y económica creada por la pandemia del Covid-19 ha impuesto restricciones a la movilidad y ha puesto de manifiesto la necesidad de poner más énfasis en temas como la seguridad alimentaria, las conexiones urbano-rurales, la coordinación de servicios públicos, el desarrollo económico con enfoque territorial y a las visiones de género sobre la economía y el cuidado. Y aunque los retos son muchos, estamos también ante una oportunidad para pensar nuevas maneras de gobernar y planificar la región en Colombia de manera más descentralizada, multi-escalar y policéntrica. Y también de pensar a Bogotá como una región en la que conviven diferentes niveles de gobierno y escalas de planeación. En este documento de política proponemos un marco conceptual para situar estos retos actuales de la planeación regional en Bogotá en el contexto de las nuevos retos y dinámicas del ordenamiento territorial a nivel local y global. La coyuntura actual requiere ir más allá de las nociones de planificación y desarrollo regional que prevalecieron durante finales de siglo XX y principios del siglo XXI, que enfatizaban el rol del gobierno central y el discurso de la competitividad global para la creación y planeación de regiones. En este documento proponemos un marco de gobernanza multinivel y planeación multiescalar que nos permita pasar a un nuevo paradigma en el que las regiones sean vistas no sólo como actores que compiten en el contexto de la globalización, sino como elementos de una construcción colectiva, incluyente y policéntrica del territorio. El documento se divide en tres partes. En la primera exponemos la experiencia de diferentes experimentos de planificación regional que tuvieron lugar en Bogotá desde mediados del siglo XX hasta 2018. En la segunda parte, recogemos algunos de los principales temas a los que debemos prestar atención en la década de 2020: la agenda 2030 del desarrollo sostenible, la crisis climática, la pandemia por el Covid 19, el freno a los procesos de globalización que se venían gestando en las últimas décadas, la necesidad de incorporar las visiones de género y de la economía del cuidado, así como la mayor importancia de la autonomía territorial y las conexiones urbano-rurales en los procesos de planeación del territorio. Con base en la experiencia histórica y la coyuntura actual, en la tercera parte concluimos con algunas ideas sobre cómo la idea de gobernanza multi-nivel, planeación multi-escalar y policentrismo pueden ser útiles para pensar la planeación regional en Bogotá en el contexto actual y futuro.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Governance, and Decentralization
Political Geography:
Colombia

3149. Análisis crítico de la Política de Crecimiento Verde

Author:
Jhandra Melissa Díaz López, Luis Carlos Ávila, and Edgar Forero
Publication Date:
02-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:
La economía colombiana se proyecta como una de las de mayor crecimiento a nivel regional (entre los años 2000 y 2015 tuvo un crecimiento del 4.26%) (CONPES; DNP, 2018), lo cual ha tenido efectos en el país sobre la disminución de la pobreza, la desigualdad y el desempleo. Sin embargo, esta presenta grandes problemas relacionados con su diversificación, productividad y sostenibilidad, así como con la baja generación de bioproductos, las deficientes capacidades en Ciencia y Tecnología, y el control de los efectos del cambio climático. Este panorama ha expuesto la necesidad de formular diversas políticas y leyes que propicien espacios para promover el desarrollo productivo, la mitigación y la adaptación al cambio climático. Al no haber una política integradora, en el año 2018 se propuso la Política de Crecimiento Verde, cuyo objetivo es impulsar la competitividad y productividad económicas del país, sin dejar de lado la necesidad de garantizar la gestión sostenible de recursos naturales, la igualdad social, la mitigación y adaptación frente al cambio climático, y el manejo adecuado de biotecnología y recursos sólidos, todo esto con un horizonte definido al año 2030. En este documento se presenta una revisión crítica de la política, compuesta por la descripción de sus principales objetivos y motivaciones, un ejercicio de identificación de sus principales limitantes, una discusión sobre su alcance y aplicabilidad y una propuesta de ajuste a sus objetivos y estrategias de comunicación y socialización. Entre los principales puntos críticos que se presentan, están aquellos relacionados con su carácter continuista, que propone la adaptación de los recursos naturales y sociales al servicio de la economía, la falta de cambios estructurales que permitan avanzar hacia una gestión equilibrada de los recursos, la prevalencia contradictoria de la competitividad sobre los objetivos de investigación e innovación y la necesidad de tomar en cuenta los intereses generales por encima de los particulares. Así mismo, se realiza una propuesta orientada a cómo consideran los autores que se deben reestructurar los objetivos de la política y la necesidad de integrar una propuesta de gobierno abierto dirigida a fomentar la socialización y divulgación, la participación social y colaboración ciudadana, y la transparencia y rendición de cuentas.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Economic Growth, Green Technology, Economic Development, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Colombia

3150. Policy Papers by Women of Color: A New Normal: Redefining National Security Beyond 2020

Author:
Maritza T. Adonis, Heather Ashby, Amber A. Demery, Heather Yang Hwalek, and Pratima T. Narayan
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS)
Abstract:
It is with great pleasure that I bring you the latest edition of the Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS) Policy Papers. Looking back to when we began the WCAPS publications, the original goal was to highlight the expertise and the viewpoints of women of color on issues of peace, security, conflict transformation, and foreign policy. It was also to open the door to an opportunity for women of color to be published. What I have observed during my many years in Washington is that it is often challenging for women of color to be published. Many times, I have been asked “how do I get published,” in a space that has left out many women of color. One of the goals of WCAPS is to open doors for women of color that have been closed before. I wanted to ensure we are represented in all the different forums of policy change that exist. I was happy when we began to work on our first publications in 2019 that led to three simultaneous publications in February 2020. Since that time, we not only published the Policy Papers by Women of Color as an ongoing policy journal, but reports, op-ed, statements, and many other articles by WCAPS members. I am happy to see our members now being sought for writing and publications in the fields of peace, security, conflict transformation, and foreign policy. In so many ways, WCAPS is becoming an organization increasingly relied upon to provide authors, as well as experts, panelists, mentors, speakers, and more. WCAPS is also sought after for its members to join other organizations, and WCAPS members are increasingly in positions and roles that were not previously open to young girls and women of color. Once again, WCAPS and women of color are leading the way. We will continue to do so.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, National Security, Women, Feminism, Peace, WPS, Girls, and Women of Color
Political Geography:
Global Focus