GLOBSEC NATO Adaptation Initiative

The GLOBSEC NATO Adaptation Initiative, led by General (Retd) John R. Allen, is GLOBSEC’s foremost contribution to debates about the future of the Alliance. Given the substantial changes within the global security environment, GLOBSEC has undertaken a year-long project, following its annual Spring conference and the July NATO Summit in Warsaw, to explore challenges faced by the Alliance in adapting to a very different strategic environment than that of any time since the end of the Cold War. The Initiative envisages a series of policy papers which will address the nature of NATO adaptation and the challenges it must overcome if it is to remain a viable and credible alliance for the peace and stability in the transatlantic area.

The policy papers published within the GLOBSEC NATO Adaptation Initiative are authored by the Initiative’s Steering Committee members: General (Retd) John R. Allen, Admiral (Retd) Giampaolo di Paola, General (Retd) Wolf Langheld, Professor Julian Lindley-French, Ambassador Tomáš Valášek, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow and other acclaimed authorities from the field of global security and strategy. The aim of the involvement of such a wide array of experts is to reinforce the unique partnership between policy-makers, military leaders and leading academics and commentators.

The Final Report of the GLOBSEC NATO Adaptation Initiative (GNAI) was officially released in November 2017.

You can read and download the Final Report publication here and executive summary here.

The following papers preceded the publication of the final report:

1. Steering Committee Scoping Paper. NATO in a Changing Strategic Environment: The Questions NATO Adaptation Must Address, by the Steering Committee
2. Interim Report. One Alliance? Change Drivers in a New Strategic Environment, by the Steering Committee

Supporting papers:

1. The Political Adaptation of the Alliance, by Alexander Vershbow
2. The Military Adaptation of the Alliance, by Karl-Heinz Kamp and Wolf Langheld
3. Comprehensive NATO, by Stefano Stefanini and John Allen
4. Integrated Deterrence: NATO’s ‘First Reset’ Strategy, by Paul Cornish
5. Ten Messages for Affording and Equipping the Adapted Alliance, by Giampaolo di Paola and Julian Lindley-French
6. Reanimating NATO's Warfighting Mind-set: Eight Steps to Increase the Alliance’s Political-Military Agility, by Ian J. Brzezinski and Tomas Valasek
7. NATO Procurement and Modernisation: Towards an Innovative Alliance with Much More Deployable Combat Capability, by Michael O’Hanlon
8. Future War NATO? From Hybrid War to Hyper War via Cyber War, by General (Ret.d) John Allen, General (Ret.d) Philip M. Breedlove, Professor Dr Julian Lindley-French, & Admiral (Ret.d) George Zambellas

The compendium of all reports is available here.

These outputs will be augmented by shorter policy papers (on cybersecurity, A2/AD capability, intelligence, and threats emanating from the South) prepared by the GLOBSEC Policy Institute.

On 9 July 2018, members of the GLOBSEC NATO Adaptation Steering Committee called on NATO Heads of State and Government to show solidarity and commission a major strategic rethink to re-forge the transatlantic relationship at this week’s NATO Brussels Summit. You can read their open letter here.