{"id":39115,"date":"2020-11-10T16:03:59","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T16:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/10\/nato-faces-existential-threat-if-it-cant-reach-younger-generations-report-warns\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:09:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:09:50","slug":"nato-faces-existential-threat-if-it-cant-reach-younger-generations-report-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2020\/11\/10\/nato-faces-existential-threat-if-it-cant-reach-younger-generations-report-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO faces existential threat if it can\u2019t reach younger generations, report warns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 In Brussels Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg kicked off an all-day NATO 2030 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nato.int\/cps\/en\/natohq\/news_178894.htm\" target=_blank>Youth Summit<\/a> aimed at injecting interest in the alliance into millennial and Generation Z future leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou \u2014 tomorrow\u2019s leaders, both in North America and Europe \u2014 have the greatest stake in our security, so NATO 2030 is the chance for you to step up and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2020\/06\/08\/nato-chief-seeks-to-forge-deeper-ties-in-chinas-neighborhood\/\" target=_blank>safeguard your future<\/a>, your freedom, your Alliance,\u201d Stoltenberg said in his opening comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a new report from the <a href=\"https:\/\/cepa.org\/an-agenda-for-natos-next-generation\/\" target=_blank>Center for European Policy Analysis<\/a> think tank argues that NATO has not done enough to activate interest in younger European leaders \u2014 and that the alliance faces an existential threat if it can\u2019t turn that around.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nato-2020-defined\/2019\/12\/02\/natos-allied-transformation-command-deputy-on-china-space-and-future-threats\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ruggiano_nato.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">NATO\u2019s Allied Transformation Command deputy on China, space and future threats<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Italian Army Gen. Paolo Ruggiero, named deputy supreme allied commander for transformation on July 19, brings an operational background to his command.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe need to recognize there is a whole new generation of post-Cold War citizens of the alliance who have grown up in an entirely different environment, and they are already beginning to take up roles in national government, and they have a different set of priorities that are more in line with future threats,\u201d the author of the report, Lauren Speranza, told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf NATO doesn\u2019t bring them into the fold now, we risk this scenario in which NATO is viewed as outdated and doesn\u2019t have the buy-in of a next generation of political leaders, and at that points risks retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speranza offered three key areas where the alliance should step up its focus in order to make sure NATO is relevant to that post-Cold War cohort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first is a focus on the nontraditional threats that are well below the Article 5 designation, an area that \u201chas impact on the everyday lives of millennials and Gen Z in a way that it doesn\u2019t current policy makers,\u201d per Speranza. A more proactive effort in that regard (something <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/nato-2020-defined\/2019\/12\/03\/nato-to-define-plan-to-counter-russias-hybrid-warfare-tactics\/\" target=_blank>NATO has begun<\/a> doing in recent years) would help attract interest in a way that a focus on Article 5, which refers to the alliance\u2019s collective defense clause, may not, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second is a need to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2020\/10\/09\/nato-chief-seeks-technology-gains-in-alliance-reform-push\/\" target=_blank>develop a technology and innovation agenda<\/a>. The private tech industry is always in competition with the defense sector for young talent, and often wins, but NATO also lags behind the Pentagon and the European Union in how it recruits and offers interesting challenges for younger technology experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/nato-2020-defined\/2019\/12\/03\/nato-struggles-with-its-china-conundrum\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-962013790.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">NATO struggles with its China conundrum<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Each of the 29 NATO nations has a different relationship with China. Can the alliance find a coherent strategy for dealing with Beijing?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The third area also dovetails with statements from NATO leadership that it needs to figure out how to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2018\/09\/07\/how-a-potential-chinese-built-airport-in-greenland-could-be-risky-for-a-vital-us-air-force-base\/\" target=_blank>relate to China<\/a>, and what role the alliance may play in the Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are a lot of next-gen leaders with an interest in Asia, so bringing them in to help inform how partnerships with Asian nations could happen is a good way to benefit both sides,&#8221; Speranza said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about tearing up the current NATO agenda. It\u2019s about finding ways to communicate those priorities with ways that resonate with next-gen leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next-gen summit itself serves as a perfect example of the internal challenges Speranza sees at alliance headquarters. The effort is billed as a way to bring younger voices into NATO at a time when the alliance is undergoing a major review of its future, dubbed NATO 2030, and alliance leadership has announced plans to stand up a Young Leaders group in parallel to the review \u2013 all good moves, on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, Speranza says, \u201cin an ideal world, we would just put a few next-gen representatives on the main Reflection Group instead of running a parallel process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOftentimes the next generation wants to be consulted but they get very few opportunities, and it\u2019s always under this next-gen label; they don\u2019t get to sit at the adults table or get to actually work shoulder to shoulder. By maintaining this divide, we do the Alliance a disservice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The alliance faces &#8220;retirement&#8221; if it can&#8217;t find ways to connect to the up-and-coming generation of European leaders, according to the Center for European Policy Analysis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":82356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,46,11,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3378],"class_list":["post-39115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"ILW7YJXF7RD6HFFMH6QFMSD3R4","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2020\/11\/10\/nato-faces-existential-threat-if-it-cant-reach-younger-generations-report-warns\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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