As The Hague prepares to host the NATO summit later this month, ISS and Leiden University brought a much-needed perspective to the discussion: how NATO is viewed from the Global South. On 17 June, a panel of researchers and policy experts gathered at ISS to reflect on the alliance’s global role and its impact beyond Europe.
In the lead-up to the NATO summit in The Hague on 25 and 26 June, the city is filled with events and debates. But one key perspective has received little attention: how the alliance is perceived from the Global South. On 17 June, the International Institute of Social Studies and Leiden University hosted a symposium for critical reflections on NATO’s global role.
The event, held at ISS and moderated by Dirk Jan Koch, brought together speakers with academic and diplomatic backgrounds to discuss how NATO’s actions, both past and present, are viewed from countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The panel included:
- Tahir Abbas, Former Professor of Radicalisation Studies, Leiden University
- Shyamika Jayasundera-Smits, Associate Professor, ISS
- Yeshiwas Degu Belay, PhD researcher, ISS
- Jean Yves Ndzana, junior diplomat and PhD researcher, Leiden University
Speakers discussed how NATO interventions have affected countries like Libya and Afghanistan, and questioned how NATO engages, or should engage, with states in the Global South. The conversation also touched on broader issues such as security, sovereignty, and the role of state narratives in shaping global politics.
By creating space for voices that are often overlooked in high-level security discussions, ISS and Leiden University offered an important counterpoint to the usual NATO-focused narratives.
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