Finland and Sweden’s eventual entry into NATO will render it an alliance of 32 member states. Each ally has a unique strategic culture and particular outlook on the Euro-Atlantic security landscape. Bridging these diverse positions can be challenging, and reaching unanimity among the allies often requires extensive consultation. Maintaining cohesion within NATO – a crucial underpinning of a credible collective defence alliance – is, however, as important as ever given the intensity of the threats facing NATO from various strategic directions, most notably from the Russian Federation.
The second seminar of FIIA’s NATO in Focus series zooms in on the question of NATO cohesion. The event will tackle several vital questions. How should the alliance best maintain its cohesion? How do allies in different parts of the alliance perceive the contemporary security environment? How does this diversity affect NATO’s objective to consolidate its deterrence and defence posture?
This seminar is a part of a FIIA research project on Finland’s evolving role in Euro-Atlantic security, which analyses Finland’s NATO membership process and its nascent NATO policy.
PROGRAMME
Speakers:
Thierry Tardy, Director of the Research Division, NATO Defense College
Karsten Friis, Senior Research Fellow, NUPI
Edward R. Arnold, Research Fellow for European Security, RUSI
Justyna Gotkowska, Deputy Director, Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW)
Chair:
Matti Pesu, Leading Researcher, FIIA