Our experts decipher NATO’s new Strategic Concept

This one was a decade in the making. On Wednesday, NATO released its new Strategic Concept—a sixteen-page document of dry diplomat-speak sketching out the Alliance’s future path as it takes on threats posed by Russia, China, climate change, and more. But what were the allies really saying amid all the jargon? And what did they leave out? Experts from the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative carefully combed through the document and dropped their insights in the margins.

Below is the Strategic Concept, displayed with annotations from our experts. Click on the underlined text to view their thoughts and takeaways.

Introducing your annotators for this edition of MARKUP:

  • Leah Scheunemann: Deputy director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Transatlantic Security Initiative and former Pentagon official focused on international security policy
  • Hans Binnendijk: Distinguished fellow at the Transatlantic Security Initiative and former senior director for defense policy and arms control on the US National Security Council staff
  • Sarah Kirchberger: Nonresident senior fellow with the Scowcroft Center, head of Asia-Pacific strategy and security at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University, and vice president of the German Maritime Institute.

Related Experts: Leah Scheunemann, Hans Binnendijk, and Sarah Kirchberger

Image: Leaders of NATO members pose for a family photo during their summit in Madrid, Spain, on June 29, 2022. Photo by Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS