Adaptation in International Security Organizations: How Crises Transform NATO    

Global governance scholars have increasingly interrogated changes at the macro level (e.g. birth, death, progeny) and micro level (e.g. improvisation) in international organizations yet fewer studies of mid-level type changes have emerged. Those few studies that have done so largely overlook the arena of high politics. Similarly, the field of security studies has devoted the bulk of its interest in change to national militaries (e.g. innovation, learning) rather than international security organizations (ISOs). 

This study therefore offers an answer to the question of why ISOs sometimes stagnate, sometimes accommodate but other times adapt. I argue that two factors matter: 1) a geopolitical crisis’ political proximity to the organization’s mission and 2) a strong signal from a potential lead nation.

 In this talk, I share initial results from qualitative analysis and statistical analyses, respectively, of two sets of data: original interviews with 92 political and military officials working on or at NATO and a novel dataset of 887 NATO policy documents coded by reform type. Interview responses discuss the case of Russia's war on Ukraine, among other contemporary crises. The latter dataset was constructed via hand-coding and LLM-assisted content analysis. The study fills a gap in international organization studies and security studies, and it stresses the importance of crisis type for the identity of a security organization in the aftermath of crises.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Heidi Hardt is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine and a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council. Her research focuses on NATO, US and European security, alliance politics, organizational change, learning, international organizations, gender and climate security. Hardt has authored two books:  NATO’s Lessons in Crisis: Institutional Memory in International Organization (Oxford 2018) and Time to React: The Efficiency of International Organizations in Crisis Response (Oxford 2014). In addition to contributions to edited volumes, Hardt's scholarship appears or is forthcoming in journals, including Security Studies, Journal of Politics, PS: Political Science & Politics, PLOS One, European Journal of International Relations, International Politics, Review of International Organizations, Contemporary Security Policy, European Security, among others. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Fulbright, NATO, Carnegie and IGCC. As a CFR International Affairs Fellow, she worked for the US State Department (NATO Desk), a US Senator and US Congresswoman. She completed a CFR term membership, has been a Fulbright Schuman scholar and is currently on the executive board of the World Affairs Council of Orange County.