NATO had been addressing a range of emerging threats for quite some time, yet it had done so in a compartmentalised way, without clear-cut political guidance or thorough conceptual underpinning. The 2010 Strategic Concept signalled a change, however, as it provided NATO with a wide-ranging mandate to address these challenges in a more systematic way.

Creating conditions for peace, NATO becomes an unlikely catalyst for women’s inclusion in the Afghan peace talks. As the intra-Afghan peace negotiation first term draws to a rejuvenation, Afghan women should take stock of the post-war aftermath and apply lessons learned from the Suffragettes one hundred years ago.

Quo vadis NATO? An equally natural, suitable and, at the same time, difficult question. Natural, because one of the golden rules of managing any organization is the one which imposes the permanent monitoring of its standing, status, and direction of evolution. Suitable, since the organization just celebrated 70 years since the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, and difficult because we are living interesting times both outside NATO as well as inside the Alliance.

Turkey-NATO relations have a history of challenges more or less since Turkey’s accession to NATO in 1952. Strained relations between Turkey and NATO have begun long before Turkey’s alleged failed coup attempt on 15 July 2016. However, the failed coup attempt increased tensions further and it is fair to assume that these tense relations are likely to continue. At the same time, Turkey-NATO relations are constrained by a not yet amended North Atlantic Treaty of 4 April 1949. As long as the treaty remains not updated very little can be done to change the nature of Turkey-NATO relations.

The significance of the transatlantic link in the architecture of the European security has been, over the years, a subject for debate for both the member states and the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. As in most cases, when important aspects regarding European defence and security are debated at the level of the European Union, opinions differ - from completely supporting the transatlantic link, to ensuring European security by its member states alone, by means of the Common Security and Defence Policy. These debates are the more relevant nowadays, when the European Union is more determined than ever in its evolution to build a security and defence profile that depicts the institution as guarantor of European security.

As mentioned in the previous article - The Transatlantic Link - Current and Future Significance Part 1 – Challenges and Opportunities (Geostrategic Pulse, no. 274/May-June 2019), the author continues his view on the transatlantic link focusing on NATO’s role in European defence.