NATO’s Future Strategy: Ready for the Threats of the Future or Refighting the Battles of the Past?

Abstract

Watersheds and turning points are usually determined by historians in retrospect. It can sometimes take several years before a particular year or event is seen as having exerted a decisive influence on the life of a people, a nation or an institution. As the great Prussian historian Friedrich von Schlegel aptly put it, “The historian is a prophet looking backwards.” Yet for some time already, and increasingly as the date approaches, many observers of NATO are predicting that 2014 will be a turning point for the alliance, although toward what exactly, they are far from certain.

The views in this chapter are entirely those of the author alone. They should not be construed as representing an official position of NATO but are contributed in a purely personal capacity.