Is NATO back to its roots after the Wales summit?

2015/1/14 11:44:12

The Finnish Institute of Int’l Affairs plans a seminar to examine the decisions and commitments made at the Wales Summit that completed the reorientation of NATO back to a defence alliance. 

 


The Finnish Institute of International Affairs announces a seminar:

 
IS NATO BACK TO ITS ROOTS AFTER THE WALES SUMMIT?

 

On Thursday 29 January 2015, at 9:30-11:30

At Kansallissali

Aleksanterinkatu 44 A, 2nd floor, Helsinki

 

External events have driven NATO members to focus on collective defence in a way not seen since the Cold War. Though collective defence has been strengthened through small steps since 2009, it was the decisions and commitments made at the Wales Summit that completed the reorientation of NATO back to a defence alliance. Will implementation of the decisions receive the required support in the member states? Are the European NATO members capable of carrying the economic responsibility expected from them? What will the relationship between NATO and Russia look like in the medium term and what are the conditions of normalising the relationship? Finland and Sweden also had their partnerships with NATO strengthened: How should they utilise this three year window of historic cooperation opportunities?

 

Speakers:

 

Jonathan Parish, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, NATO

 

Jonathan Parish studied at universities in Sheffield and Aix-en-Provence as well as at the German Federal Armed Forces’ University in Hamburg. Following graduation from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he trained as a helicopter pilot. His last appointment in the British Army was at Headquarters NATO where initially he led the staff responsible for the military aspects of Combating Terrorism and NATO Enlargement and then served as Policy Planning Officer within the Office of the Secretary General. In 2004 he joined the NATO International Staff as senior planning officer and speechwriter to the Secretary General. He took up his current post in 2014.

 

Tuomas Forsberg, Professor of International Relations, University of Tampere

 

Dr Tuomas Forsberg is Professor of International Relations at the University of Tampere. He holds a PhD from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Forsberg has researched the end of the Cold War and the relationships between great powers. In addition, his research interests include the EU’s foreign and security policy, the feasibility of a global truth commission, and conflict resolution.

 

Comments:

 

Yrsa Grüne, Editorial writer, Hufvudstadsbladet 

 

Yrsa Grüne has been the editorial writer at Hufvudstadsbladet since 2008. From the 1980’s until 2008 she was reporting from conflict areas in Latin America, the Balkans and the Middle East. Her main areas are security and defense policy & international politics. Grüne has also been on several assignments in disaster areas, working for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. She holds a BA degree in Economics & Business Administration from the Swedish School of Economics & Business Administration in Helsinki.

 

Chair:

Teija Tiilikainen, Director, the Finnish Institute of International Affairs

For further information please do not hesitate to contact: Marie-Louise Hindsberg, tel. +358 9 432 7712,marie-louise.hindsberg@fiia.fi

 

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