Between Pastiche and Sampling: NATO’s Strategic Adaptation to Russian Revisionism

The essay assesses NATO’s reaction to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014. Building on a synthesis of recent advances in strategic studies and works looking at institutional adaptation of security organisations, it presents an analytical framework for assessing strategic adaptation based on innovativeness, scope and cohesiveness. It takes inspiration from two techniques established in the visual arts and music, applying the concepts of pastiche and sampling to the analysis. The analysis concludes that, despite some problems and remaining challenges, NATO’s readjustment to Russian revisionism can be characterised as a moderately successful strategic sampling.