NATO in a changing world – Outdated Organization or Indispensable Alliance?

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NATO in a changing world –
Outdated Organization or Indispensable Alliance?
 
At its 60th anniversary summit in April 2009, NATO plans to launch a process to develop new security strategy. On this occasion, the Heinrich Böll Foundation will host an international conference on the future of the Alliance. After the end of the cold war, is NATO an outdated organization? What role should and can the organization take on in a plural world order?
 
NATO – Rift or Bridge toward Russia?
 
From the war in Afghanistan to the question of expanding towards Georgia and Ukraine and its new tensions with Russia: Is NATO ready for new challenges or is it rather at the brink of collapse? After the Iraq war, is NATO again a catalyst for the revitalization of a close trans-Atlantic partnership?
 
Russia’s President Medvedev suggested a new Eurasian security organization ranging from Vancouver to Vladivostok. Does NATO have the potential to grow from a Western defense alliance into a comprehensive security pact that includes Russia? Or will it return to its original cause: keeping Russia in check?
 
The Plural World Order: New Challenges with an old Security Architecture?
 
There is tenuous agreement among NATO members that military means are not sufficient to address the major challenges of the day: solving the conflict in Afghanistan, preventing a new, nuclear arms race, and coping with climate change. There needs to be greater priority on multilateral, political cooperation, integration of emerging powers into the global community as well as conflict prevention. How will NATO pursue these goals?
 
The Heinrich Böll Foundation wishes to provide an open forum for political decision-makers, experts and civil society representatives to discuss the role of NATO in the 21st century. This conference will be a forum to discuss questions of global security and the future security strategy of the North Atlantic Alliance. Please join us to discuss the current state of NATO and its role in the coming decade.