Jānis Sārts has led the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in Riga for the past 11 years, a period marked by evolving global security challenges and a shifting information landscape. As disinformation campaigns become increasingly sophisticated, the center’s role in helping NATO adapt to modern warfare is more critical than ever.
In a recent discussion, Sārts explained the primary challenges facing the center, the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in information warfare, and the changing relationship between NATO and its largest partner, the United States. The center focuses on understanding how warfare is changing and helping NATO adapt to those changes.
“There are two things that would be functionally and rationally good to understand in the current US position!” Sārts stated, highlighting the complexities of the transatlantic alliance. He explained that NATO has established centers of excellence to study these shifts in the nature of conflict and develop strategies to address them.
The Riga-based center specializes in what is often referred to as information or cognitive warfare. This concept centers on attempts to alter people’s perceptions and beliefs, ultimately influencing their behavior and understanding of events. The goal, Sārts noted, is similar to that of traditional warfare – to achieve surrender, but through cognitive means. “Surrender is a cognitive principle,” he said. “So is the decision to resist.”
Sārts emphasized that the center’s work is crucial as the nature of conflict evolves, and large organizations often struggle to adapt quickly. The development underscores the increasing importance of strategic communication in modern geopolitics.
