GLOBSEC launches the Future Security and Defence Council

With a rapidly evolving and increasingly dangerous security environment, threats to the transatlantic alliance have never been so quick to materialize. The most recent NATO summit acknowledged these host threats where adaptation is necessary to ensure the security of the alliance and its people. Following the publication of the GLOBSEC NATO Adaptation Initiative report, GLOBSEC is proud to announce the creation of the Future Security and Defence Council.

As recognized at its most recent Summit, NATO needs to adapt to the future environment, in which diverging geoeconomic interests, the reemergence of peer-to-peer competition, hybrid activities and the broad availability of commercial technologies will increase the level of risk. Although NATO’s responses will be determined ultimately by national policymakers, there is a space for the non-partisan community of experts and leading industry representatives to provide depth and expertise to the discussion for the Alliance’s consideration.

To advance the research work, the Council will call on the expertise of its Advisory Committee, as well as engage with select thematic experts from both the public and private sector. Members of the Advisory Committee are composed of elite transatlantic security experts and diplomatic champions. The Council will produce a series supporting papers, which will act as a point of reference for policymakers and will be published ahead of NATO’s next summit in Spain.

The final study will furthermore seek to align with the adoption of NATO’s new Strategic Concept as well as consider the possible implications of NATO’s existing Critical Future Technologies and Allied innovation.

An underlying avenue of the study’s research will also focus on the technological and defence capabilities of European NATO Allies. Given the wealth of intellectual talent and topflight industry across the continent, formulating policy recommendations to capture this defence potential is a worthwhile exercise that the Council will explore.

“To keep up with the current security environment, it is important to react rapidly to the rising challenges. The Council has the potential to address big questions, promote cooperation and comprehensive approaches in their confrontation,” says Denis Mercier, the former Supreme Allied Commander Transformation of NATO and current member of the Advisory Committee.

“The future security environment will be governed by unprecedented technological developments. I am glad that the Council will consider the specific talents and needs of Allies across Europe to profit the collective defence,” adds Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the former President of Croatia and an Advisory Committee member.

 GLOBSEC’s President Róbert Vass, also a member of the Advisory Committee, strongly believes that the Council has an important role to play in facilitating the dialogue between the public and the private sector to enhance the readiness for the contemporary threats. “GLOBSEC is actively shaping the policy debates in Central Eastern Europe. The reaction to the recent trends that are changing the security environment is an important part of our agenda and hence I welcome the Council initiative,” he reacts.

Throughout the course of the year and into the summer of 2022, the Council will focus on: defining the future environment for which NATO needs to prepare, assessing the capabilities that NATO will need, identifying the problems that need to be addressed, and formulating recommendations for the defence innovation framework to serve the intentions and needs of the Alliance. Additional commentary and various media products will be released during research efforts leading to a final study in April of 2022. The writing team will be led by Dr. Heiko Borchert with the help of Torben Schütz and Joseph Verbovszky.

Research Independence Statement of the GLOBSEC Future Security and Defence Council

 The GLOBSEC Future Security and Defence Council, otherwise known as “the Council”, in alignment with the GLOBSEC Policy Institute’s research mandate of producing independent and though provoking research that promotes transatlantic and liberal democratic values, is committed to producing the highest-level caliber of research and analysis. In the pursuit of this objective at no time throughout the course of the Council’s research objective, now or in the future, will its members, or external staff compromise, its academic independence or integrity to promote the interests of any donor or as well as any other third party.

Members of the Advisory Committee are participating solely in their personal capacities, and the products of the Council and/or the proceedings of the public events deriving from the work of the Council do not represent an official endorsement of the organizations with which the Advisory Committee members are associated or affiliated.

More information about the project FIND HERE