Verso il nuovo Concetto Strategico : il ruolo delle missioni per il futuro della Nato

Both Nato’s survival and ongo-ing relevance after the Cold War are strictly linked to its military missions. On the one hand, the missions have been instrumen-tal in defining Nato’s new role, legitimacy and effectiveness. On the other, the future of the Alliance seems to be increas-ingly related to the evolution of one mission, namely Isaf in Afghanistan. Furthermore, many issues that have been debated in view of the drafting of the New Strategic Concept – e.g. Nato’s regional vs global stance, or the new meaning of the Article 5 of the Atlantic Pact – depend on missions and on their developments. Concerning the missions, there are two aspects today that can be considered mayor chal-lenges for the future of Nato: the problems arising from bur-den-sharing and those related to Eu-Nato cooperation. This paper offers an analysis of these two interrelated issues and provides a clue to evaluate one aspect of Nato’s New Stra-tegic Concept.