Two of the IFSH’s senior research associates, Michael Brzoska and Hans-Georg Ehrhart, contributed to an assessment of the December 2020 NATO expert group report , “NATO 2030: United for a New Era”. The international non-governmental organisation NATO WATCH had invited 10 peace researchers to provide critical reviews of the report. The assessment was recently published.
The expert group, appointed by NATO to consider prospective challenges and possibilities for the defence alliance, came to the conclusion that NATO has to prepare for a period of dangerous geopolitical confrontation with Russia and China— a confrontation with political as well as military dimensions. Authors of the NATO WATCH assessment warn that allowing such a bloc perspective to dominate will have dangerous consequences unless opportunities for cooperation are given proper consideration.
In their view, the expert group’s perspective is limited by a one-sided analysis of past events and future developments, especially in relation to Russia. The assessment authors are also critical of the way in which the NATO-appointed experts misjudge important prospective challenges such as climate change or the problems faced by countries in North Africa and the Sahel.
Read the NATO WATCH REPORT here.