DEFENDING DEMOCRACIES: A BLUEPRINT FOR THE DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE CENTRE WITHIN NATO
Democratic countries today face multiple, growing threats from within and from without. Terrorism, extremism, disinformation, and interference from outside powers target the principles and institutions at the heart of democratic societies and seek to undermine people’s trust in their democratic institutions.
At the same time, autocratic regimes in Moscow, Beijing and elsewhere seek to promote their ‘alternative models’ of repression and disregard for international law and fundamental rights and work to undermine the international rules-based order.
President Vladimir Putin’s renewed, full-scale invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 is a blatant attack on the most basic principles underlying the international order since the end of World War II – principles which Moscow has freely signed on to. With its aggression, Russia seeks to crush Ukraine’s democracy, intimidate other countries where the embers of democratic ambition burn and, by implication, undermine democracy everywhere.
The assault on the United States Capitol on 6 January 2021 also showed that democracy within the Alliance, while resilient, is also fragile. This was not just an assault on the United States. It was an assault on the symbol of freedom and democracy around the world. However, democracy prevailed that day. Congress reconvened to complete its constitutional duty to certify the results of the presidential elections. By doing so, Congress affirmed that the United States lives by the rule of law, not by the rule of the mob.
The Assembly's call was heard. NATO’s new Strategic Concept, adopted in June 2022, marks a significant milestone by placing shared democratic values at the heart of NATO’s response to today’s challenges. The Assembly calls on Allies to operationalise this recommitment.
MAKING DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE A KEY PRIORITY FOR NATO’s ADAPTATION
As an alliance of democratic nations, NATO must play its part in safeguarding and promoting democracy and in strengthening the ability of Europe and North America, together, to resist and counter all attempts to undermine it. This is the essence of the Assembly’s proposal to establish a Centre for Democratic Resilience at NATO Headquarters.
Over the last four years, the NATO PA has identified the strengthening of NATO’s democratic foundations as crucial to prepare the Alliance for the changing security environment. It has endorsed the creation of a Centre for Democratic Resilience in 14 resolutions and numerous reports and had made it one of its top recommendations for NATO’s Strategic Concept.
In 2019, on the occasion of NATO’s 70th anniversary, twin reports by Ulla Schmidt (Germany) and Gerald E. Connolly – then General Rapporteurs, respectively, of the-then Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security and of the Political Committee – highlighted the internal and external dynamics which made this such an urgent priority.
The resolutions they sponsored on Reaffirming Commitment to NATO’s Founding Principles and Values and NATO at 70: Celebrating 70 Years of Peace and Security through Unity called on NATO Allies to recommit to the Alliance’s shared democratic values.
Gerald E. Connolly, United States, former PCTR General Rapporteur
Mr Connolly’s report NATO at 70: Why the Alliance Remains Indispensable and the related resolution, for the first time, put forward the proposal for a Centre for Democratic Resilience within NATO.
The Assembly reiterated this proposal in 2020, in its recommendations to NATO as part of the NATO 2030 agenda.
The independent Group of Experts on NATO 2030 supported the notion in their own recommendations to the NATO Secretary General.
Upon his election as President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on 22 November 2020, Mr Connolly affirmed his commitment to making democratic resilience within the Alliance a top priority.
The Assembly renamed one of its Committees as the Committee on Democracy and Security, and in April 2021, it established a Working Group to refine the proposal for a NATO Centre for Democratic Resilience.
The Working Group was composed of the NATO PA’s Bureau and the Chairperson of the Committee on Democracy and Security. It was chaired by then President Connolly, and then Vice-President Attila Mesterhazy (Hungary) acted as the group’s Rapporteur. The Working Group collected testimonies and input from a dozen independent experts and NATO officials.
The Assembly made the recommitment to the Alliance’s shared democratic values and the establishment of a Centre for Democratic Resilience one of its top recommendations for NATO’s new Strategic Concept. Former President Connolly made this proposal the main theme of his speech at the Summit of Allied Heads of State and Government in Madrid in June 2022, highlighting how Russia’s illegal, unprovoked, full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine made this priority even more urgent and important.
NATO Summit, Madrid, 2022
The Assembly was heard. As the NATO Parliamentary Assembly had recommended, NATO’s new Strategic Concept adopted at the Madrid Summit recognises the threat posed by authoritarianism and places shared democratic values at the heart of NATO’s response to today’s challenges.
The Assembly now urges Allied governments to finalise the remaining steps necessary to operationalise the commitments made in the Strategic Concept. This operationalisation should include the adoption of relevant policies and work programmes reflecting the renewed commitment to democratic values as well as an institutional adaptation. The Centre for Democratic Resilience would bring coherence and visibility to the various existing efforts underway within NATO as well as giving them new breadth.
The Assembly reiterated this recommendation in the reports and resolutions adopted at its annual sessions in Madrid (November 2022) and Copenhagen (October 2023) and did so as well in its recommendations for the Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Vilnius in July 2023.
Successive NATO Parliamentary Assembly Presidents, Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam (France, 2022-2023), and now Michal Szczerba (Poland, elected October 2023), have continued to make this proposal a top priority.
Michal Szczerba, Poland, President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
I welcome the North Atlantic Council's clear condemnation of Russia's intensifying hybrid activities targeting NATO countries. Russia's active interference and destabilisation campaign is yet further evidence of why NATO needs a Democratic Resilience Centre at its Headquarters. The time is now. We must do more, together, to defend our democracies.
To reject this proposal is to turn a blind eye to what Putin is doing in Ukraine and let a cancer that threatens our future continue to grow. [...] Russia’s ultimate goal is to undermine democracy, to upend European security and to destroy the international rules-based order. We need to contend collectively with this strategic reality.
Gerald E. Connolly, United States Former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam, France Former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
Our Assembly is convinced that NATO draws its strength not only from its military power, but also from our commitment to democratic values. [....] NATO's new Strategic Concept has proved us right. [It] places democratic values at the heart of NATO's response to today's challenges. But to give substance to this commitment, we must now translate it into concrete action. The Vilnius Summit must set a clear course to make this commitment to defend our values a reality.
OPERATIONALISING THE WASHINGTON TREATY AND THE MADRID STRATEGIC CONCEPT
The Washington Treaty is very clear: NATO is an alliance of democracies.
Preamble: [The Parties to this Treaty] are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.
Article 2: The Parties will contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening their free institutions, by bringing about a better understanding of the principles upon which these institutions are founded, and by promoting conditions of stability and well-being.
The Washington Treaty
NATO's new Strategic Concept adopted in Madrid in June 2022 places the Alliance's shared democratic values at the heart of NATO's response to today's threats and challenges.
The Preamble states: “We remain steadfast in our resolve to protect our one billion citizens, defend our territory and safeguard our freedom and democracy. We will reinforce our unity, cohesion and solidarity, building on the enduring transatlantic bond between our nations and the strength of our shared democratic values.”
The Strategic Concept recognises for the first time the challenge posed by authoritarianism, stating that “Authoritarian actors challenge our interests, values and democratic way of life.".
From the very first pages, the Concept reaffirms that "[w]e are bound together by common values: individual liberty, human rights, democracy and the rule of law.”
These values are recalled several times throughout the text and are linked to several of NATO's policies and missions (gender equality, partnerships and the "open door policy", the NATO-EU strategic partnership, the systemic challenge posed by China and the responsible use of new technologies).
The Allies also undertake “to reinforce consultations when the security and stability of an Ally is threatened or when our fundamental values and principles are at risk.”
The concept concludes with a firm commitment:
As Allies, we will continue to stand together to defend our security, values, and democratic way of life.
The Assembly’s proposal to establish a Centre for Democratic Resilience is grounded in the clear commitment to shared democratic values in NATO’s founding Washington Treaty and aims to operationalise the renewed commitment to defend these values in the 2022 Strategic Concept.
The centre would serve as a focal point, resource and a centre of expertise and information on best practices and cross-fertilisation on threats to democracy and democratic benchmarks. It would bring coherence and visibility to the various existing efforts underway within NATO as well as giving them new breadth. The centre would be flexible and voluntary, accessible on request to member countries, partners and candidates for accession.
It is not the role of the centre to judge Allies’ compliance with democratic principles. There is no question of infringing on the sovereignty or interfering in the internal affairs of Allies. The centre would not impose – it is a resource made available to nations. It would be a modest, targeted structure. This structure would serve to coordinate with other organisations on issues related to democratic resilience.
The Assembly urges Allied leaders to take steps to direct the adoption of relevant policies and work programmes reflecting the renewed commitment to democratic values as well as to direct the necessary institutional adaptation, so that NATO’s recommitment to its shared democratic values does not remain purely rhetorical.
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