NATO’S Centers of Excellence: A Key Enabler in Transforming NATO to Address 21st Century Security Challenges

This working paper by Guy Roberts, former NATO deputy assistant secretary general for weapons of mass destruction policy, explores NATO’s adoption and employment of Centers of Excellence (COE) as “an integral part of the educational and training support community to bolster and significantly contribute to the Alliance’s ability to identify, prioritize, respond, and implement the defense objectives for 28 Allies.” Roberts also highlights the importance of NATO’s process for developing, establishing, accrediting, and re-validating NATO COE as a template for establishing and sustaining centers in other areas, such as nuclear security.

The paper was prepared for an October 2014 workshop that explored the potential for collaboration among nuclear security COE in Asia in technical and policy areas and offered an opportunity to exchange ideas in an off-the-record setting among government and other knowledgeable experts. This workshop, co-organized by the Stanley Center, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation, sought to identify particular steps the COE can take to promote consistency, transparency, and sustainability beyond 2016.