As NATO’s membership and mission have evolved over the past 75 years, so too has the complexity of the organization as well as the need for clear and effective strategy. While attention often focuses on the more powerful nations of the Alliance, this talk will examine the important but often underappreciated role that NATO political and military staff play in the strategy formation process. In exploring the evolution of NATO strategy and structure from its founding to the present, the talk will highlight the first-ever public strategy — the 1991 Strategic Concept — and the NATO staff who helped shape this pivotal moment in Alliance history. As we find ourselves in a period of heightened conflict in the European theatre, more uncertainty regarding the future of American involvement in NATO, and increasingly complex security environments, understanding NATO strategy formation and its implications for the future becomes even more urgent and important.

Leanne Iorio is a current DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford. Her doctoral research examines how NATO and its constituent members plan and implement strategy in complex environments, specifically focusing on NATO’s 1991 Strategic Concept and the underappreciated role that NATO institutional actors played in its formation and the process of adoption. Prior to beginning her doctoral research, Leanne earned a MA in International Relations from the University of St Andrews and a MA in International Security from Sciences Po Paris. Leanne has also undertaken work with the RAND Corporation, where she primarily focused on wargaming Baltic defense and deterrence, and better understanding the contributions of key European NATO Allies.