NATO attaches great importance to the development of emerging disruptive technologies, adjusts the scope of technological development, increases investment and planning efforts, and broadens cooperation areas. The first Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Advisory Group was established in 2020, proposing innovative technologies that NATO should prioritize, such as data and quantum technology, and suggesting a reconsideration of cooperation with non defense private sectors. The 2024 NATO Summit emphasizes accelerating technological transformation and deepening technological cooperation among member states and with the European Union. NATO's emerging disruptive technology strategy aims to seek military absolute advantage through technological breakthroughs, reshape the global supply chain layout, influence technology usage norms, and profoundly impact international power and relationship distribution.

1、 Literature Review

Discussed the development and impact of NATO's emerging disruptive technology strategy. NATO has moved the strategy of emerging disruptive technologies from concept to implementation, releasing relevant roadmap documents and research reports, clarifying technology definitions and key areas. The top ten technology areas that NATO focuses on include artificial intelligence, data technology, etc., with the aim of maintaining technological advantages. There is relatively little research in academia on NATO's technology strategy, but with NATO's emphasis on the Asia Pacific region, its technological trends have received more attention. The literature analyzed the characteristics of NATO's technology strategy, the enhancement of European and American military strength, the impact on international order, and the role in reducing nuclear proliferation risks. However, existing research often starts from the perspective of the United States and its allies, lacking a comprehensive evaluation. NATO's vigorous development of emerging technologies may raise concerns among non allied countries, and its logic of "technological hegemony" deserves attention. Overall, NATO's emerging technology strategy is still a product of group politics, and its development and impact deserve further exploration.

2、 The Goals, Focus, and Path of NATO's Emerging Disruptive Technology Strategy

The NATO Emerging Disruptive Technologies Strategy aims to maintain military advantage and form strategic deterrence through the development of emerging technologies. The strategic goal is to ensure technological advantages and build international identity politics, with a focus on developing dual-use technologies for military and civilian use, promoting synergy and efficiency between technologies, and continuously expanding technological content. On the strategic path, NATO adopts a cooperation model between governments, enterprises, and academia, accelerating the conversion of civilian technology to military technology through innovative financing mechanisms, ensuring that funding is invested to promote technological innovation. NATO has launched the "North Atlantic Defense Innovation Accelerator" project and the NATO Innovation Fund to provide funding and support for emerging disruptive technologies, promoting the development and integration of dual-use technologies.

3、 Limitations of NATO's Emerging Disruptive Technology Strategy

NATO's emerging disruptive technology strategy faces four challenges: difficulty in technology research and application, insufficient supply chain integrity, potential interoperability risks among allies, and internal conceptual differences within the alliance. The difficulty of technology research and transformation is high, and emerging disruptive technologies have extremely high requirements for sub technologies and components, involving differences in laws and regulations in multiple countries, which limits the efficiency of technology implementation and promotion. NATO emphasizes the synergistic effect of multiple technologies, but in practice, it needs to overcome issues such as technological complexity, data privacy and security, and algorithm complexity. The implementation of NATO's emerging disruptive technology strategy is limited by laws and regulations, such as international humanitarian law and the General Data Protection Regulation. The lack of a complete supply chain among allies and the excessive dependence of NATO countries on semiconductor production and 5G networks have affected the resilience of the supply chain. NATO regards China as a 'systemic challenge', but China remains a major partner for NATO countries to import high-tech products. There are conflicts of interest between governments and private enterprises within NATO, and it involves different attitudes of allies towards China. However, in order to achieve technological development goals, NATO must reduce its dependence on China. There are hidden risks in interoperability among allies, and NATO countries have inconsistent standards and varying levels of technology in military interoperability. NATO member states have varying levels of technological development, and their investment and contributions to emerging disruptive technologies are uneven. There is a technological gap within NATO, which affects internal cohesion. There are differences in internal concepts between the United States and Europe, which reduces the efficiency of strategic implementation. The strategic goal of NATO's emerging disruptive technologies is to achieve absolute technological dominance to ensure military advantage, but European countries place greater emphasis on Europe's defense and security. There are differences in attitudes and values towards China between the United States and Europe, leading to differences in legal constraints, ethical rules, and moral frameworks for emerging disruptive technologies. The EU emphasizes technological ethics more, while the United States places greater emphasis on technological innovation.

4、 The Impact of NATO's Emerging Disruptive Technology Strategy

NATO's emerging disruptive technology strategy has a profound impact on the global military situation, supply chain layout, and regional security. This strategy gathers international cutting-edge military technology development resources to promote changes in the military field and the formation of new standards. NATO emphasizes the ideological "values" standard in technological cooperation, which is influenced by politics, and the international supply chain layout and industrial pattern are reshaped by the political tendencies of NATO allies. NATO's development of emerging disruptive technologies may trigger a new round of arms race, affecting regional and global security situations.

conclusion

Emphasizing the politicization of NATO's emerging disruptive technology strategy, its goal is to maintain NATO's military advantage and strategic deterrence through technological innovation in the military field. Since 2019, this strategy has been accelerated under the impetus of the Ukrainian crisis, emphasizing cooperation between the government, businesses, and academia, and showing a trend towards group politics and factionalism. This strategy will reshape the global supply chain and affect the interests of related enterprises, but in the short term, it is subject to interest games and differences in legal policies. In the future, NATO's strategy may manifest as intensified ideological differentiation, a shift in focus towards the Indo Pacific region, and the absorption of Finland and Sweden to inject new momentum, while expanding cooperation through the EU to promote technology financing and talent absorption.