Summary
Herman Schaper
Nederland en het permanent aanpassingsproces van de NAVO - 'This ain't your daddy's NATO'
Herman Schaper elaborates on NATO's perpetual adaptation process. In both Europe and America a renewed desire to strengthen transatlantic cooperation manifests itself. NATO's strength and endurance flow from the combination of soft and hard power: shared values and principles, and the most formidable international military organisation in the world. NATO's integrated military structure is increasingly put to use to assist countries outside the Alliance and other international organisations, acquiring the function of a public good for the international community. The history of NATO is characterized by a process of perpetual adaptation to changes in the security environment, which ensures its continued relevance. NATO's present agenda is a very full one: operations such as those in Afghanistan and Kosovo, the trans-formation of the Allied armed forces, enlargement, relations with Russia, cooperation with partners both in Europe and in other parts of the world, as well as old and new security challenges such as proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, cyber warfare, piracy and energy security.