Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Explore the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s latest insights, commentary, articles, media hits, and in-depth reports

All commentary & analysis

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

NATO Summit Reaction, Day 1

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

Today in Lisbon, Alliance leaders met to approve a new Strategic Concept that reconfirms NATO’s purpose to safeguard members’ freedom and security and modernizes the Alliance to face new threats, with new capabilities and new partners. Atlantic Council team members offer their expert insights and analysis on the outcomes of the summit. Visit our online […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

NATO: New Strategic Concept, Same Old Alliance

By James Joyner

The long awaited new strategic concept, launching what has been termed "NATO 3.0," has been published under the banner "Active Engagement, Modern Defense." The document is ambitious, committing the "Alliance to prevent crises, manage conflicts and stabilize post-conflict situations, including by working more closely with our international partners, most importantly the United Nations and the […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

NATO’s Top Challenges

By Damon Wilson and Jeffrey Lightfoot

As Alliance leaders gather in Lisbon, they must be able to address these top challenges in order to declare Lisbon a success: Transition in Afghanistan: Will NATO project a united front on transition of the ISAF mission to Afghan security forces, or will the Allies appear to be rushing for the exits under political pressure […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

NATO’s Defense Budgets 2011

By Simona Kordosova

As NATO leaders meet in Lisbon, their responsibility includes charting the Alliance’s course in an age of austerity. The fiscal crisis that swept across both sides of the Atlantic put enormous pressure on defense budgets. As NATO leaders approve a new Strategic Concept and commit to strengthen capabilities to guard against a new array of […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

The G-20 Challenge and its Implications on NATO

By Jason Harmala

In the latest installment of the New Atlanticist Podcast Series Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarwar Kashmeri interviews George Magnus, Chief Economist of UBS Investment Bank. Magnus discusses the challenges of accommodating the separate economic agendas of the G-20 member countries and the possible implications on NATO’s thoughts about reaching out to the fast growing Asian […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2010

A Plan to Blunt the Impact on NATO of European Defence Cuts

By Hans Binnendijk and Richard Kugler

Austerity budgets in Europe will mean that key NATO members are going to cut their defence costs in ways that could damage the alliance’s military preparedness. Britain’s defence cuts could total as much as 20% by 2014-2015, and Germany and France plan to reduce their defence budgets by about 6% through 2013, and their forces […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2010

Breaking the Security Cooperation Logjam Between Russia and the West

By Tomáš Karásek and Jakub Kulhanek

NATO is gearing up to meet in Lisbon to sign off on its new strategic doctrine and Russia is in the spotlights again with a new offer of partnership with the Alliance in the pipelines. Yet, despite vague proclamations the current rapprochement on security matters lacks any solid foundation on which the West and Russia […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2010

NATO’s Missing Agenda Item in Lisbon

By Ian Brzezinski

As NATO leaders prepare for their summit in Lisbon this week, attention has focused on the war in Afghanistan, approval of a new Strategic Concept (NATO’s roadmap for the future), and the challenge of sustaining the alliance’s military capabilities in an era of fiscal crisis. Missing from the agenda is the future of the U.S. […]

Issue Brief

Nov 18, 2010

NATO Missile Defense: Is Europe Ready?

By Edgar Buckley

Edgar Buckley, Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group member and former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Planning and Operations, published a Transatlantic Missile Defense issue brief titled “NATO Missile Defense: Is Europe Ready?” Download the PDF

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Event Recap

Nov 18, 2010

Rasmussen, Petraeus, Stavridis, and Ban Highlight Young Atlanticist Summit

By James Joyner

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis, ISAF Commander David Petreaus, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will be among the speakers at the 2010 Young Atlanticist Summit in Lisbon.

Issue Brief

Nov 18, 2010

NATO and Territorial Missile Defense

By Simon Lunn

In a series of issue briefs on Transatlantic Missile Defense, Simon Lunn, Associate Fellow of RUSI, and former Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, penned “NATO and Territorial Missile Defense: A ‘No Brainer’ or More Questions than Answers?” Download the PDF

NATO Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Nov 18, 2010

Missile Defense in NATO: A French Perspective

By Bruno Gruselle

Bruno Gruselle, Senior Fellow at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique in Paris, published a Transatlantic Missile Defense issue brief titled “Missile Defense in NATO: A French Perspective.” This issue brief explores the evolution of France’s stance towards a NATO missile defense collective. Download the PDF

France NATO

Event Recap

Nov 17, 2010

The Obama Administration’s European Agenda

Atlantic Council held a two-part NATO Forum public discussion on the future of the Alliance on the eve of the NATO Lisbon Summit.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Nov 17, 2010

NATO’s Ten Point Strategy

By Karl-Heinz Kamp

There will be disappointment when NATO publishes its new strategy at the Lisbon summit later this week. “Way too general and nothing new in it” will be the verdict of op-ed columnists. Shall these few pages really be the blueprint for NATO’s role in the 21st century? Is NATO’s new Strategic Concept much ado about […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 17, 2010

Pakistan Bombshell

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Some can’t wait to get out of Afghanistan and some can’t wait to see us leave. NATO allies now want out ASAP. Some have already left (Dutch troops), others are preparing to leave (Canadians) and soon the allied fighting force will be reduced to 100,000 Americans and 9,000 Brits. And Afghan President Hamid Karzai now […]

Issue Brief

Nov 16, 2010

Save NATO: Merge it with CSDP

By Sarwar Kashmeri

In this issue brief, Sarwar Kashmeri, Atlantic Council Nonresident Senior Fellow and recent author of “NATO 2.0: Reboot or Delete?”, proposes the responsibility of managing NATO be turned over to the Europeans through a merger with the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy.Download the PDF

Europe & Eurasia European Union

New Atlanticist

Nov 16, 2010

NATO’s Future: Tough Choices at Lisbon

By Nikolas Gvosdev

When NATO leaders gather in Lisbon on November 19 for the alliance’s annual summit, what sort of conversations should they be having about the future of the organization? How should the Strategic Concept be translated from the realm of aspiration into political realities? The Europe-Russia Study Group at the U.S. Naval War College met to […]

Event Recap

Nov 15, 2010

NATO-Russia Missile Defense Cooperation: Roundtable Discussion with Frank Rose

On Monday, November 15th, 2010, the Atlantic Council’s International Security Program hosted a roundtable discussion on NATO-Russia Missile Defense Cooperation with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and Defense Policy, Frank A. Rose.

Missile Defense NATO

New Atlanticist

Nov 15, 2010

NATO’s ‘Open Door’

By Leo Michel

Since 1999, 12 nations from the Baltics to the Balkans graduated from partnership with NATO to membership. Hence, it’s a safe bet that NATO’s new Strategic Concept, when unveiled at the Lisbon Summit on Nov. 19-20, will reaffirm the "open door" policy that "no European democratic country whose admission would fulfill the (Washington) Treaty’s objectives […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 12, 2010

America’s Renewed Engagement of Asia

By Patrick deGategno

President Obama was in Asia this week to make good on his campaign promise of renewing American diplomacy worldwide. His longest, and arguably most important, international trip of his presidency included stops in India and Indonesia, the region’s next two emerging powers after China, as well as Japan and South Korea, two of America’s regional […]

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