NATO and Public Diplomacy: The Need for the Alliance to Tell its Own Story
By Alexis Crow
26 Sep 2008
‘We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a Cold War’, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently said when questioned whether Moscow is apprehensive about NATO’s potential moves after the war in Georgia. This Russian bravado was, perhaps, both understandable and predictable. But is Mr Medvedev right to dismiss NATO’s importance? And are other politicians – in both the East and West – right to criticise NATO? As a result of the crisis in Georgia, NATO – the institution which confronted Russia for decades but also retained its military primacy in the post-Cold War era – is being attacked from all sides: for having failed Georgia in any sort of security guarantee; for having precipitated the crisis because of its accession talks at the NATO Bucharest Summit in April; and for cornering Russia. One thing, however, is certain: the re-emergence of Russia as a country which challenges the existing status quo has placed NATO in the hot seat. Once again, this is a battle of ideas, and NATO is back to its original business. Now, more than ever, NATO members need to engage in a sustained public relations campaign, and explain the continuing story of the Alliance to its voting publics.
26 Sep 2008
‘We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a Cold War’, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently said when questioned whether Moscow is apprehensive about NATO’s potential moves after the war in Georgia. This Russian bravado was, perhaps, both understandable and predictable. But is Mr Medvedev right to dismiss NATO’s importance? And are other politicians – in both the East and West – right to criticise NATO? As a result of the crisis in Georgia, NATO – the institution which confronted Russia for decades but also retained its military primacy in the post-Cold War era – is being attacked from all sides: for having failed Georgia in any sort of security guarantee; for having precipitated the crisis because of its accession talks at the NATO Bucharest Summit in April; and for cornering Russia. One thing, however, is certain: the re-emergence of Russia as a country which challenges the existing status quo has placed NATO in the hot seat. Once again, this is a battle of ideas, and NATO is back to its original business. Now, more than ever, NATO members need to engage in a sustained public relations campaign, and explain the continuing story of the Alliance to its voting publics.
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