New NDC Publication: Vox Collegii Magazine Volume XIX

During the past six months, we have been running Senior Course 134, comprising 76 high-level officers and civil servants from 33 NATO and partner countries all around the world. Together with our other courses and many related activities, we have spent yet another intensive academic year in fulfilling our Education, Research and Outreach mission.

Over the last nine years this journal has sought to support NDC’s core mission and its vital role in supporting our Allies and Partners in the promotion of transatlantic values. Uniquely, it has undertaken this goal by encouraging a debate between scholars, policy makers and military journalists, who have offered significant insights on crucial NATO-related topics for a wide readership. 

This year represents a pivotal year for NATO and our collective security. In this edition of Vox Collegii you will find four articles focusing on the Alliance’s 70th anniversary, together with others on the NDC’s NMDX simulation exercise, NATO enlargement and the Alliance’s strategic intent in the High North. There is also a tribute to our beloved colleague Vincenzo Di Stefano, who sadly passed away in April.

Dr Elizabeth Buchanan’s article provides the first analysis of NATO’s High North challenges and priorities. In detail, the author provides an interesting perspective on how the return to the Greenland, Iceland and United Kingdom (GIUK) gap would affect the Alliance, given recent Russian assertiveness in the region.

The second article, by Dr Pierre Dugue, addresses another area of strategic relevance for the Atlantic Alliance, looking at alternative solutions to Georgia’s NATO membership aspirations that might avoid escalating tensions with Moscow over the Caucasus.

Moving on, Alexander Moens, Alexandra Richards, Cornel Turdeanu and Harleen Atwal review the Negotiation, Mediation, and Decision Making Exercise (NMDX) that was held at the NATO Defense College this summer. In existence since 2017, this version of the NMDX is a simulation exercise that allows graduate and senior undergraduate students to experience the challenges of NATO decision-making and gain insight into the frustrations and complexities of diplomatic negotiations. The students undergoing this advanced training were prepared for the NMDX experience during a 13-week accredited programme entitled The NATO Field School, run by Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Last but not least, the article by NDC Research Division Director Dr Thierry Tardy is dedicated to NATO’s 70th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the NATO Defense College held an international Conference with many high-level personalities in attendance, such as former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mrs Rose Gottemoeller and Admiral James Foggo, Commander Allied Joint Force Command. The event represented a unique opportunity for an open discussion on NATO’s past, present and future. In celebrating the Alliance’s 70th birthday, the Conference was also vital in keeping the debate alive about the Alliance’s ambition to contribute to stability and peace by adapting itself to the unstable international environment and to the post-21st century threats that challenge NATO as a military organization.

I trust you will enjoy reading this special edition of the Vox Collegii and find inspiration for creative strategic thinking on the key issues facing the Alliance, while also continuing to support the NDC as a leading NATO centre of education, outreach and research on transatlantic security issues.

In conclusion, thanks to all those who have contributed so much to the continuing success of this magazine.