PROGRAMME NATO AT 60: TOWARDS A NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT
Thursday 15 January – Saturday 17 January 2009
952nd WILTON PARK CONFERENCE with support from NATO Public Diplomacy Division and the UK Ministry of Defence
NATO is expected to adopt a Declaration on Alliance Security and is working towards a New Strategic Concept for 2010/11. This conference, which marks NATO’s 60th birthday in 2009, is prior to the Strasbourg/Kehl summit in the spring. A great deal has changed since the last Strategic Concept was released in 1999. It is now time for NATO to adjust to the new realities by developing a new Strategic Concept.
THURSDAY 15 JANUARY
1300-1430 Buffet Lunch
1500-1515 Welcome to Wilton Park Stephen PULLINGER Programme Director, Wilton Park, Steyning
1515-1645 1 TOWARDS A NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT FOR NATO
What are the likely new challenges to emerge over the next decade that could demand NATO’s intervention? How will NATO maintain its ability to perform the full range of its missions in the 21st Century: collectively defending our security at home and contributing to stability abroad? What might a new Strategic Concept for NATO look like?
John HUTTON Secretary of State for Defence, Ministry of Defence, London
Lawrence FREEDMAN Professor of War Studies and Vice-Principal, King’s College, London
1645-1730 Photograph and Tea
1730-1900 2 ‘WINNING’ IN AFGHANISTAN
Is NATO going to prevail in Afghanistan? What needs to be done to improve the prospects of victory? How good is intra-NATO cooperation? How well is NATO working with partners and other agencies on the ground? What would ‘victory’ look like? How does NATO deal with the cross-border threat from the tribal areas? What are the implications of failure? What will the new US Administration do? What might be the implications of forthcoming Afghan elections?
Jamie SHEA Director, Policy Planning, Private Office of the Secretary General, NATO, Brussels
Paddy ASHDOWN Former High Representative for Bosnia Herzegovina; Member, House of Lords, London 1930 Drinks Reception
2000 Dinner
FRIDAY 16 JANUARY
0915-1045 3 CREATING A STRONGER EUROPEAN SECURITY ARCHITECTURE
How can we reinvigorate the transatlantic relationship to create a stronger security architecture based on the Helsinki principles? For instance, how should NATO relate to ESDP and the role of the OSCE? And how should it develop its relationship with Russia?
Kurt VOLKER US Ambassador to NATO, Brussels
Paul JOHNSTON Director, International Security, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London
Camille GRAND Director, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS), Paris
1045-1115 Coffee
1115-1245 4 INTEGRATING THE COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH INTO A NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT (WORKING WITH PARTNERS: THE KEY TO SUCCESS)
Experience from NATO operations has demonstrated that co-ordination between a wide spectrum of actors, both military and civilian, is essential to achieving key objectives of lasting stability and security, but how can these partnerships be made to work better? Specifically, how best can NATO further its Comprehensive Approach by taking forward the action plan agreed at the Bucharest Summit? How far should NATO embrace new allies, such as Japan and Australia?
COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH Daniel KORSKI Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), London
EU-NATO Julian LINDLEY-FRENCH Professor of Military Operational Science, Netherlands Defence Academy, Alphen
1245-1515 Lunch
1515-1645 5 A NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT NEEDS MEMBER STATES TO DELIVER NEW CAPABILITIES
Afghanistan has demonstrated NATO’s lack of adequate capability in a number of key areas. What capability gaps need to be plugged now and in which capabilities should member states invest for the longer term? Should NATO be pushing for greater defence integration amongst member states or allowing market forces to take their course? How can NATO improve its interoperability? Where is the centre of gravity for common European defence procurement – NATO or the EDA?
Session Chair: Adrian KENDRY Senior Defence Economist, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division, NATO, Brussels
Nick WITNEY Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Paris
Edgar BUCKLEY Senior Vice President, European Business Development, Thales, Neuily Sur Seine 1645-1715 Tea
1715-1845 6 WHAT SHOULD UNDERPIN THE NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT: STABILISATION AT HOME OR TRANSFORMATION ABROAD?
Is there a danger of NATO becoming over-extended? Should NATO concentrate on being able to deliver on its Article V commitments? Stabilisation at home rather then transformation abroad? How does NATO transform itself without losing its established qualities? How do we prioritise between a wide range of competing threats and challenges with limited resources and variable political commitments? Can a new Strategic Concept deliver?
Alyson BAILES Visiting Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Iceland, Reykjavík
Lawrence KAPLAN Professorial Lecturer, History Department, Georgetown University, Washington DC
1930 Drinks Reception
2000 Conference Dinner
SATURDAY 17 JANUARY
0915-1045 7 PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: SELLING NATO'S MESSAGE AND MISSIONS TO THE PUBLIC
Is public support for NATO falling? Does NATO have to be loved or can it just get by? How do we build wider popular support for NATO?
Michael STOPFORD Deputy Assistant Secretary General, Strategic Communications Services, Public Diplomacy Division, NATO, Brussels
Caroline WYATT BBC Defence Correspondent, BBC News, London
1045-1115 Coffee
1115-1245 8 MAKING NATO FIT FOR PURPOSE: SHAPING A NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT
Karl EIKENBERRY Deputy Chairman, NATO Military Committee, NATO, Brussels
1245 Lunch
1400 Participants Depart