The leader of what he calls 鈥渢he world鈥檚 most successful alliance in history鈥� engaged in a dynamic conversation with members of the USF community on a range of issues impacting international affairs. Following his first in-person summit with NATO foreign ministers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg participated in a virtual summit hosted by the USF Institute on Russia and the School of Interdisciplinary Studies. He outlined the significance of NATO 2030, a new initiative designed to strengthen the trans-Atlantic partnership over the next decade.
鈥淲e need to continue to change, continue to adapt because the world is changing,鈥� Stoltenberg said. 鈥淲e are faced with more cyber-attacks in a more brutal form of terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We see the global balance of power shifting with the rise of China and we see many other challenges and much more complex issues in the security environment in which we have to address.鈥�
Stoltenberg emphasized the need for the 30-member alliance to bolster its defenses and build reliable infrastructures, maintain its technological edge and tackle shared threats, such as climate change. He answered a question from USF alum Curtis Burns (鈥�97), who served in Afghanistan, about whether hybrid warfare by Russia, including disinformation campaigns and cyber-attacks, might prompt NATO to rethink when to invoke its principle of collective defense. Stoltenberg explained how there鈥檚 now a blurred line between peace and war and that NATO will invoke Article 5, which mobilizes an active defense from all member nations, when it鈥檚 鈥渄etermined to be necessary and when aggression is conducted with non-traditional military means.鈥� NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
鈥淚t is a truly special and rare opportunity when faculty, alumni, students and the community are able to engage with a major world leader like the NATO secretary-general,鈥� said Golfo Alexopoulos, director of the USF Institute on Russia and professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies. 鈥淭he event taught us a great deal about the pressing security challenges of our time and the importance of our country鈥檚 major alliance.鈥�
Several USF students directed questions to Stoltenberg on a range of topics, from the rise of China and the health of the U.S.-NATO relationship, to the security implications of climate change. Doctoral student Murid Partaw is studying Middle Eastern politics and asked about troop withdrawal in Afghanistan. Foreign nations are scheduled to withdraw troops in May. NATO has yet to make a final decision and Stoltenberg explained the focus is on providing support for renewed peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. U.S. troops have been stationed in Afghanistan since 2001.
鈥淭he interaction between the secretary-general and USF students was the highlight of the event,鈥� said Thomas Smith, professor and associate dean of the Judy Genshaft Honors College. 鈥淭he students鈥� questions were thoughtful and well-informed, and the secretary-general鈥檚 responses were absolutely engaging. He even offered students advice on careers on international affairs.鈥�
Prior to the USF event, Stoltenberg wrote an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times about the significance of the alliance between the United States and European nations and explained how that will be at the center of the NATO Summit in Brussels later this year. He also commended the strength and solidarity he witnessed during a 2017 visit to MacDill Air Force Base, home of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) in Tampa. USF continues to partner with SOCOM on various projects, including the recent launch of cube satellites into space.
When introducing the NATO secretary-general, USF President Steve Currall noted that 鈥渁t USF, our faculty and students are conducting research to improve understanding of an increasingly complex world and to make our world safer and more secure.鈥�