NATO and Anthropogenic Strategic Security

This research paper examines NATO's capacity to integrate anthropogenic risks, specifically climate change and pandemics, into its operational framework, arguing that these risks represent a critical juncture for the Alliance to reorient its sustainability strategies.

• The author argues that climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic act as a critical juncture for NATO, necessitating a reorientation of sustainability strategies to address insecurity caused by resource depletion and climate fluctuations.
• NATO's strategic focus has evolved from deterring state threats during the Cold War, primarily the Soviet Union, to addressing non-state actors in the early twenty-first century, such as Al-Qaida, Somali pirates, and Russian hackers.
• While NATO had been incrementally addressing climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for the Alliance to recognize insecurity stemming from sources other than states or non-state actors, marking its first sustained regional mobilization of military assets in Europe for such a risk.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2023). NATO and Anthropogenic Strategic Security. https://www.sei.org/publications/nato-and-anthropogenic-strategic-security/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. NATO and Anthropogenic Strategic Security. 2023. https://www.sei.org/publications/nato-and-anthropogenic-strategic-security/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=NATO and Anthropogenic Strategic Security |date=20 December 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/nato-and-anthropogenic-strategic-security/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2023nato, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{NATO and Anthropogenic Strategic Security}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/nato-and-anthropogenic-strategic-security/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }