The Atlantic Council of Turkey, which is working to increase public involvement in NATO affairs, gathered analysts from various countries and held its 18th International Antalya Conference on Security and Cooperation to discuss the future of the alliance.

NATO's old reflexes might complicate the task of improving the alliance's public image, which emerges as an important need if the 28-nation bloc wants to fulfill its future missions, an academic at an international conference warned Friday.

Amid budget cutbacks and a 'diminishing appetite' for war, Europe has turned increasingly to the 'soft power' assignments like training and institution-building.

NATO is interested in the resolution of conflicts in the South Caucasus region, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia Robert Simmons said at the discussions held with the Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian public members at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

They break up child suicide-bomber rings, take down drug lords and government ministers (even when they are the same thing) and kick in doors to rescue kidnapped diplomats — all with little or no help from the Americans and NATO.

The NATO summit that convenes in Lisbon is not a celebration. The Alliance is overextended, overburdened and apprehensive. Yet its relationship with Russia is improving.

On 18 November, 70 young leaders from across Allied and Partner nations joined 120 Portuguese university students at the two-day Young Atlanticist Summit (YAS) entitled “NATO and its Neighborhood: Working with Others to Meet New Challenges”.

Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon recently returned from a trip to Russia, Poland, and Germany, and later this month will be in Lisbon for the NATO summit and NATO-Russia Council meeting.