Promoting NATO values and the value of NATO




ATA UK aims to raise awareness and understanding of the benefits and obligations of the UK’s membership of NATO.  It provides education programmes, analysis and comment on international security issues in an era of strategic competition.

Posts

Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Limiting Putin’s Escalation Options

After Ukraine’s advances in the Kharkiv region in mid-September, what once seemed a remote prospect – the operational defeat of Russia’s forces in Ukraine – is looking increasingly plausible. But President Putin will seek to avoid that ...

What President Putin Really Fears About NATO

President Putin knows perfectly well that NATO poses no military threat to Russia. But it is not a military threat that he fears. Finland and Sweden’s decisions to join NATO show just how severely President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has backfired. ...

Finland and Sweden: navigating the rocky road to NATO membership

Having painted himself into a corner and with wounded pride, what will a detached and deluded President Putin do when Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO? ...

Arm Ukraine, but don’t fuel President Putin’s propaganda machine

There is every reason to condemn President Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but don't inadvertently play into his own twisted narrative. ...

Putin’s Decline and a New Strategic Era

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marks the beginning of the end for the Putin regime. It also marks the end of the beginning of a new era in geo-strategy and how the world’s democracies respond to threats from aggressive autocracies. For President Putin, ...

Putin’s Flawed Knowledge of History Could Cost Him Dear

President Putin's grasp of history is not as great as he would have us believe. And there are some historical lessons that he ignores at his peril. ...

Russian Guarantees to Ukraine

Russia tries to ignore that Russia itself – as well as the United Kingdom and the United States – signed an agreement to respect Ukraine’s borders, not threaten or use force against Ukraine, and refrain from using economic coercion against Ukraine. ...

Perspectives and Explainers

Afghanistan and NATO: an Alarm Bell, not a Death Knell

The messy end to NATO’s engagement in Afghanistan underlines the need to press ahead with plans to adapt to the new era of strategic competition so that NATO remains as the central hub for defence and security cooperation among the Allies. The ...

Afghanistan after the Withdrawal

As international forces leave Afghanistan, what does the future hold for this troubled state that has endured decades of internal conflict? This paper provides the perspectives of two analysts in neighbouring Pakistan who explore the imminent ...

Democracies under threat: new coalitions and where will NATO fit?

In a new era of strategic competition, with economic might as a major instrument of power, NATO must adapt if it is to remain as the central component of its members’ security. The key to doing that – to “future proofing” the Alliance - is hiding in ...

The Integrated Review

On 16 March 2021, the government published “Global Britain in a Competitive Age”, the centrepiece of its long-awaited Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development, and Foreign Policy It presents a “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” ...

What is NATO for?

It's worth taking that question literally. ...

Spot the difference: Funding for NATO and Funding for Defence

Germany’s direct contribution to NATO now equals that of the United States. What does that mean and is there a lesson there for the UK? Starting this year, Germany and the United States are both contributing the same amount to NATO’s budget. Yet, ...

Conflict in the Grey Zone – Nothing New Under the Sun (Tzu)

The information revolution and the rise of social media make open societies particularly vulnerable to disinformation campaigns. This “explainer” looks at this all-pervasive aspect of conflict in the “grey zone”.  “The supreme art of war ...

What’s it all about? Defining and Defending the United Kingdom’s Place in the World

The government will soon publish its “Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development, and Foreign Policy”. This “explainer” looks at what the Integrated Review is about. The House of Commons Library has produced this ...

Activities

Oxford Summer Programme

ATA UK among partners in the 2022 Oxford Summer Programme on International Affairs ATA UK was pleased to be one of the partners in the Oxford Diplomacy and Geopolitics Forum’s “Oxford Summer Programme on International Affairs”. This Programme brought ...

NATO Across Communities project launched in Leicester

ATA UK’s “NATO across Communities” project launched in Leicester On 30 June 2022, just as NATO’s Madrid Summit was drawing to a close, ATA UK launched an exciting new project titled ‘NATO Across Communities’. The outreach ...

The Future of Atlantic Security

On Friday 17 June, as NATO’s Madrid Summit approached, the Francisco University of Vitoria Madrid’s “Global Common Good Center” held an international seminar entitled “NATO after the War in Ukraine: the Future of Euro-Atlantic Security”. The ...

Detecting and Countering Hybrid Threats

Hybrid threats have become a fact of life that nations must learn to recognize and attempt to counter. On 11 February 2022, less than two weeks before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, ATA UK held a webinar with Oleksandr Danylyuk on detecting ...

Defence in an Era of Strategic Cooperation

On 27 September 2021, ATA UK co-hosted an “ATA Talks” events where General Sir Nick Carter, then Chief of the UK Defence Staff, examined the key features of today’s international security environment and how to address the ...

A New Afghanistan Agenda

On 2 September 2021, just two weeks after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan ATA UK held a webinar on “A New Afghanistan Agenda”. On the panel were: Stanislava Mladenova, Jack Segal, Jamie Shea, and Jim Townsend, and guest ...

The Nature of Conflict in the 21st Century

From 23 June to 1 July 2021, ATA UK supported the Spanish Atlantic Association and the Institute of International Politics in a series of webinars examining the nature of modern strategic competition and how armed forces and societies can adapt to ...

Reflections and Lessons from NATO’s Past: Visions for NATO’s Future

On 2 June 2021, just a few weeks before a NATO Summit in Brussels, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen appeared an “ATA Talks” event where he drew upon his experiences as NATO Secretary General to analyze the issues expected to feature at the ...

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