Atlantic Community is one of the most lively and interesting websites dealing with transatlantic and security issues. Recently, it has published a very interesting policy memo made of the five best submissions for Atlantic-community.org’s “Your Ideas, Your NATO” policy workshop competition. The papers were written by Alexander Corbeil, Geoffrey Levin, Vivien Pertusot, Josiah Surface and my valuable MEMS PhD colleague Gillian Kennedy.
To read the full paper, click here. Below you can find the introduction to the memo.
INTRODUCTION
Partners in Democracy, Partners in Security: NATO and the Arab Spring, MEMO 39, Atlantic Community.
The Arab Spring has created significant challenges and unprecedented opportunities for NATO and its partners in the Mediterranean region. New security issues have emerged alongside new regimes and regional instability looms. State failure, civil conflict, and institutional collapse could present a number of major security threats, among them the creation of a refugee crisis affecting NATO members, increased illegal arms trafficking, and a breeding ground for militant groups in a Somali-like setting near European shores.
These threats highlight the need for NATO to set up a plan for fostering regional stability and developing good relations with new and emerging leaders. The changing nature of regional security and Arab governance demands a multi-faceted approach which requires NATO to draw on expertise beyond its own, especially in empowering civil society and youth groups that are the cornerstone of sustainable democracy.
Such new challenges require new partnerships and this memo intends to convey two core recommendations: restructure the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) to allow for a more incentivized and effective partnership, and partner with other institutional actors to enable NATO to offer a more comprehensive assistance package. NATO should play to its strengths while working with organizations that specialize in other tasks that are necessary to meet these goals. Only robust partnerships will allow NATO to meet these security needs in a time of greater fiscal austerity.
