Not all quiet on the Southern Flank
The 2025 NATO summit in The Hague marked a strategic turning point for European and Mediterranean security, compelling Allies to commit to a substantial increase in defence investment. This renewed focus is not solely about countering Russia on the Eastern Flank. It should also provide fresh resources to address enduring vulnerabilities and asymmetries across the South.
September 26, 2025 -
Michele Testoni
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AnalysisIssue 5 2025Magazine
U.S. Humvees parked in a remote desert during exercise African Lion 25.
Photo courtesy of NATO
Three years have passed since the adoption of NATO’s latest Strategic Concept at the Madrid Summit in June of 2022. Facing an overall reconfiguration of its strategic scenario – the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China’s rise as a major global actor, and the exponential growth of hybrid threats – the Alliance embraced a 360-degree security approach. While NATO’s “core tasks” remain valid, its priorities have shifted.
First of all, the territorial defence of frontline states in the East and the strengthening of deterrence mechanisms have taken centre stage. Simultaneously, cyber – a relatively new domain in security – is an indisputable reality: a “grey zone” populated by different attempts to spread fake news and hostile propaganda and to undermine critical infrastructures. Last but not least, the resurgence of great power politics has not removed the persistence of non-traditional security threats such as climate change, transnational terrorism, migration flows, or pandemics.
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Hague Summit, NATO, security, Southern Flank
