As NATO confronts a rapidly evolving information environment, the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in Riga, Latvia, continues to lead the Alliance’s response with cutting-edge analysis, doctrinal development, and practitioner training.
Established to understand and counter information threats across the digital domain, the Centre focuses on identifying how malicious actors exploit communication technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging digital tools. Through research and practical engagement, the Centre supports NATO and its member nations by deepening the understanding of strategic communication processes and reinforcing Allied resilience.
From Analysis to Doctrine
In 2024, the Centre reached a key milestone by publishing NATO’s first strategic communications fundamentals doctrine, formalizing a shared framework for communication professionals across the Alliance. This was accompanied by a ratified doctrine on military public affairs, aligning Allied public messaging and strengthening interoperability in communication efforts.
Building a Resilient StratCom Community
Throughout the year, the Centre hosted more than 20 events to reinforce NATO’s information posture. These included its flagship conferences, the Riga StratCom Dialogue and Digital Frontlines, which explore the future of influence, trust, and communication in contested digital spaces. The popular “Artificial Intelligence for Communicators” course drew significant attention, offering hands-on training for professionals working at the intersection of technology and influence.
These activities aimed not only to deepen awareness of disinformation and foreign manipulation, but also to build a networked Strategic Communications community equipped to detect, analyze, and counter hostile influence operations. By identifying both threats and opportunities posed by AI, the Centre ensures NATO practitioners remain adaptive in a fast-moving landscape.
Partnering for Innovation and Resilience
The Centre’s enduring cooperation with Ukraine remains a central focus. By connecting donors, stakeholders, and technology leaders, the Centre supports Ukraine’s security and defence modernization, particularly in areas such as AI integration, information environment assessment, and countering foreign interference.
Work is also underway on the development of a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. This initiative will assess the role of AI in cognitive competition and its broader implications for strategic communications. Complementing this is the NextGen Information Environment project, which seeks to anticipate how information competition will evolve in the coming decades and what tools NATO must develop to retain the initiative.
Preparing for Live Information Conflict
Recognizing the need to practice communication under contested conditions, the Centre is designing a new “StratCom LiveEX” exercise. This experimental initiative will bring together policy planners, military communicators, and civilian professionals to rehearse cross-sector responses to information threats, bridging policy and operational practice.
As information warfare becomes more complex and pervasive, the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence remains focused on keeping the Alliance informed, adaptive, and united.
Learn more: stratcomcoe.org
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