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 seminar’s public session was shown live from Spain’s Congress of Deputies and can be viewed here.
The seminar was supported by NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division and was held in cooperation with the Spanish Atlantic Association and the Congress of Deputies.
In his presentation, ATA UK CEO David Hobbs began with a warning that some states might wonder whether the invasion of Ukraine would have taken place if Ukraine had not renounced its nuclear weapons in 1994.
He then turned to the defining features of today’s “era of strategic competition” which compels nations to define their security in increasingly broader terms.
For instance, no-one can now deny that energy supplies can be used as a tool for international coercion.
He also noted that large nation states – especially non-democratic ones – are able to coordinate all their “instruments of state power” – military, diplomatic, financial, economic, intellectual, industrial, financial, etc – to achieve their political and strategic goals. He therefore proposed that like-minded democratic nations should consider how to adapt existing institutions so that their members can bring to bear all the “instruments of statecraft” more effectively.
He also noted that large nation states – especially non-democratic ones – are able to coordinate all their “instruments of state power” – military, diplomatic, financial, economic, intellectual, industrial, financial, etc – to achieve their political and strategic goals. He therefore proposed that like-minded democratic nations should consider how to adapt existing institutions so that their members can bring to bear all the “instruments of statecraft” more effectively.
