16th International Kyiv Week

On April 18 the NATO Defense College (NDC) and the Ukrainian National Defense University (UNDU)  launched the 16th edition of the International Week in Kyiv. Over the past 15 years, scores of significant issues have been studied at this venue and this time the agenda will deal with “NATO’s Adaptation to Contemporary and Future Security Challenges.” “Adaptation” is the key word for this 16th International Week and, more generally, for the world we live in. Allow me to explain why we choose this particular topic this year.

We are living in a world which is much more unpredictable and unstable than it was once. Over the past few decades we have observed significant changes in the nature of the threats: terrorist organizations are emerging one after the other with different motivations and ambitions. Although conventional weapons and WMDs are still of growing concern, terrorism is no longer just using these kinds of tools. Terrorism knows no borders and terrorists use social media, cyber channels, and psychological manipulation to widen their target areas.

In addition to concepts, such as the protection of human rights, or economic stability, food security and the protection of natural resources and the environment are gradually being included more in the efforts made for maintaining international stability. In the meanwhile, we are witnessing the results of the unsolved conflict in Syria and how it has created a migrant crisis currently affecting both the Alliance and its partners.

In a dynamic world where crises occur rapidly, dynamic leadership is needed to manage them efficiently. In this regard, it is essential for decision makers to be able to adapt to new and often turbulent circumstances; to achieve this, a broad and skilled educational approach is required. As the Alliance’s leading academic institution, the NATO Defense College emphasizes the importance of strategic understanding and analysis of modern-day challenges against the background of international and regional security.

Thanks to our academic freedom and our Research Division, we are able to adapt our curriculum to current international issues and to secure the best lecturers for our Course Members.

Adaptation is essential and great prominence has, of course, been given to hybrid warfare. Although not a new phenomenon, since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine, hybrid warfare has become a new buzzword, widely-used by military and civilian actors. While there is still some confusion over the term, which leads to some difficulty in defining what it really is, what is at stake is to effectively recognize the patterns of this type of warfare in order to deter or counter it.

Hybrid warfare might not be solely limited to Russian courses of action. It could also be waged by non-state actors on NATO’s southern flank. In both cases, what we are witnessing is a type of conflict which is integrated, adaptive, flexible, and which mixes overt and covert operations. Hybrid threats target the vulnerabilities of open societies and our militaries, blurring the usual distinction between war and peace, and undermining traditional institutions and government on a possibly unprecedented scale.

This is the reason for developing the topic at the College and for adapting our curriculum. We also held an important conference about the subject past year, entitled “NATO and the New Ways of Warfare: Defeating Hybrid Threats.” Academics, researchers, and prominent advisers from all over the world convened in Rome to debate the issue.

All these efforts to identify unconventional threats have shown us, one more time, the importance of quality education and strong partnerships. Since 1951, the NDC has been training perceptive individuals who will become the leaders of the future, able to face the challenges that the Alliance has to deal with in a fluctuating context of international security. We have been successful because we don’t deliver technical lectures, we allow me to say “don’t teach anything”: we focus on the ‘know-why’ rather than the ‘know-how’ giving participants the tools they need to face new global challenges and threats. This is why we are still here after 65 years and why we keep providing high quality education. At the same time, we know that nothing survives without adapting to new conditions, and so it is with education. The NDC has always known the value of being prepared to face new challenges and will continue to do so.

Undoubtedly, the comprehensiveness of this education depends on its potential and openness to build partnerships. Today’s world has shown us that lasting stability is only possible when it is built upon mutual understanding and cooperation. In this sense, supporting an active outreach program with other educational institutions has always been a significant part of the NDC’s mission. We have seen that International Kyiv Week – the joint academic event initiated by the NDC and the National Defense University of Ukraine – is playing a great role in providing in-depth approaches to strategic-level education. The International Week continues to heighten the mutual respect that exists between the Alliance and its long-standing partner, Ukraine.

As Commandant of the NDC, I am extremely happy to be present at International Kyiv Week, once again. The series of lectures including: “NATO Past, Present, and Future”; “NATO’s Framework for Future Operations”; and “Western Perspectives on Russia” will be given using the same educational methodology that we apply in Rome and in close cooperation with Lt. Gen. Vasyl Telelym, Commandant of UNDU, and his team of experts. In order to highlight the future of NATO and its partners’ potential role in international security, I strongly believe that our collaboration will be a significant step to providing common perspectives. That is why we are here in Kyiv and why we are working closely with UNDU: to exchange points of view, to discuss current issues, and to receive direct feedback from participants, to make a lasting contribution to this country, which is an important Partner for NATO and with which we have developed deep and strong ties. NATO stands by Ukraine in its reforms and the NDC is determined to make its contribution.