Diba Nigar Goksel
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, currently operates within the framework of a strategic concept that was agreed upon in 1999. Since then, the challenges faced by NATO have changed dramatically. The terrorist attacks of 9/11, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a shift from conventional to asymmetric warfare, NATO’s ongoing enlargement, new developments in communication technologies, and a re-assertive Russia have all played a role in changing the paradigms of the strategic partnership. Accordingly, NATO is now taking stock to re-articulate itself with a new Strategic Concept. In this issue of TPQ, we take a look at what this re-imagining of the Alliance will look like. We also are reminded of what is not changing – why NATO is still indispensable. In his article, Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis underlines the perseverance of NATO’s values and resolve on “the long road to peace, security, and prosperity.”
Vecdi Gönül
In the period after the Cold War when the concept of geopolitics was redefined within the framework of new dynamics, new opportunities and horizons arose for Turkey. Turkey has accordingly taken on new responsibilities in world politics. With the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, Turkey ceased to be in the position of a flank country of the North Atlantic Alliance and instead was positioned in the center of the Eurasian belt connecting Europe to Asia, and thus gained a greater role and importance.
James G. Stavridis
As the 21st Century continues to unfold and NATO’s civilian leaders press on with crafting a new Strategic Concept, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, Admiral James Stavridis, reflects on the myriad challenges faced by NATO, the most successful alliance in human history, and the many opportunities NATO has to serve as a worthy partner on the long road to peace, security, and prosperity.
Peter Mackay
As NATO allies that are not in the European Union, Canada and Turkey share an interest in preserving the Alliance as the premier transatlantic body for defense dialogue and cooperation. On future membership, NATO as an institution must provide reasonable, pre-accession programs that strengthen security and encourage reform. Whether in the Balkans, Central Europe, Ukraine or Georgia, the Alliance should remain open to all those who share our values and are ready to contribute to Euro-Atlantic security. A number of well-established NATO nations were once themselves beneficiaries of the Open Door policy. We must remain open to membership aspirants and continue to reinforce the important role NATO has played in stabilizing relations in Europe, both during the Cold War and after, by extending the benefits of Alliance membership to others.
Vahit Erdem
The purpose of this article is not to address every aspect of the change taking place in NATO but rather to focus on the enlargement and globalization policy of NATO, which is one of the more important dimensions of the change it has undergone. NATO enlargement policies not only reunite a fragmented Europe that won its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union and strengthen European security, but also create an environment of joint action against the threats listed above by encouraging partnerships, cooperation and dialogue in the areas of comprehensive peace and security with countries outside of Europe.
Jamie Shea
Just as the ability to learn is more important than what we actually know, so the ability of the new Strategic Concept to engage NATO in a permanent process of self-examination and strategic versatility may be more important than the immediate vision which is set out. That will also determine whether this next Strategic Concept will prove to be more enduring and influential than its predecessors.
Stefanie Babst
Dr Stefanie Babst, NATO’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, discusses the public discussion about NATO’s new Strategic Concept following the Secretary General’s decision that NATO should engage the broader publics in both member and partner countries about the Alliance’s future direction in a transparent and participatory manner. More than two hundred thousand people followed and participated in this first-ever broad-based discussion that NATO launched in September 2009. Whether the “period of inclusiveness” has changed NATO’s public image to the positive depends on the final product –the new Strategic Concept– that the Alliance leaders want to approve at the forthcoming Summit in November 2010 in Portugal.
Mahir Zeynalov
For many years, the idea that NATO would address the security concerns of the South Caucasus and particularly Georgia vis-à-vis Russia erroneously held sway. Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not want to see any of its neighbors as a NATO member. While Armenia and Azerbaijan largely benefited from NATO military training programs and remained safe, Georgia's increasing cooperation with NATO worsened its relations with Russia and resulted in full-scale armed conflict. The New NATO Strategic Concept report, released by the Group of Experts on 17 May, rules out NATO membership for states in the Caucasus and calls for more cooperation with Russia, heralding a more secure region in the upcoming decade. This paper argues that NATO presence in the South Caucasus increases the likelihood of instability and insecurity.
Carmen Gavrila
This article elaborates on Romania’s view on security, and the principles Romania wants to be included in NATO’s New Strategic Concept. It is clear that old historical fears still influence Romania’s foreign policy and its stand in the process of elaboration of NATO’s New Strategic Concept. Security at the eastern border is of crucial importance for Romania. The same goes for the open doors policy, which Romania wants to be continued, even if Russia is, to say the least, not quite “at ease” with the idea of countries like Georgia or Ukraine being NATO members. Romania also insists on extending NATO partnerships to energy producing countries, such as those in Central Asia, and securing energy transport routes.
Nazife Ece
This article will be an overview of the current debates about NATO in general that are held in Turkish media. Especially after September 2009, relations between NATO and Turkey have entered a new era because of the ‘new’ foreign policy of Turkey under the AKP government, Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan and due to the ‘new’ structuring inside the NATO with the ‘New Strategic Concept’. This article will focus on the most heated topics about NATO in Turkish media and how they are discussed. However it also aims to display that there are a lot of deficiencies and missing points in these discussions which makes them non-exhaustive. For instance, it will be seen that the discussions in Turkey are emotional in the sense that NATO is deemed to be full of symbols and meanings that there is always something more than its image, rather than seeing just as an international institution.
Baybars Örsek
This article aims to explain how “success” can be conceptualized within the context of Afghanistan and explores the potential risks that the Transatlantic Alliance is about to face. The article consists of four parts. The first part contemplates upon the term “success” in Afghanistan and evaluates the efforts of the Transatlantic Alliance. The second part focuses on the lessons learned in the war on terror leading to the third part where NATO’s new approach in Afghanistan is explored. The final chapter discusses the future of NATO in relation to the situation in Afghanistan.
Önder Aytaç
In his article, Önder Aytaç offers a brainstorming session on the “Kurdish issue”. Analyzing the “democratic initiative” introduced by the Justice and Development Party, Aytaç argues that this enterprise carries a potential to remedy the problems caused by the war against terror. To expect that a problem which has become a menacing trouble for the past 25 years to be solved in just one or two years can only be a dream. Only if full harmony can be achieved among all state institutions, including the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces), can we see satisfactory solutions sprouting in the next three or four years.
Oğuz Alyanak and Defne Kadıoğlu
Based on the outcome of a conference of the University of Oxford’s Program on Contemporary Turkey, “Turkey’s Engagement with Modernity” provides the reader with profound knowledge on important issues such as the emergence of the Turkish state from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire and the country’s ideological, economic, cultural and social history. Being a compilation rather than the work of one scholar, the book includes multiple and even contesting voices, offering readers a variety of perspectives and opinions on contemporary Turkey.
Transatlantic Academy
This section comprises of the summary of the report published in 3 June 2010 by the Transatlantic Academy. The report explores issues such as economy, energy, democracy promotion and migration in Turkey’s neighborhood at “a new era of regional diplomacy” and evaluates the impact of Davutğlu’s “zero problems with neighbors” policy. Calling on Turkey’s foreign policy to be analyzed “on its own terms,” the report incorporates the effect of Turkey’s changing domestic dynamics and complex neighborhood and tackles the following question: “Are Turkish foreign policy problems ‘getting to zero’?”