- The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) - overview, current issues and critical evaluation

Seminararbeit Bachelorstudiengang Internationales Finanzmanagement

Table of contents:
1. Introduction...1

2.

what actually is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? .1

3.

What is the aim of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? ..............2

4.

History, main facts and current issues of the NATO..3

5.

NATOs structure..8

6.

Evaluation...9

List of figures:

Figure 1, The 26 NATO member states

Note. From "NATO" by Xiando.info retrieved May 4, 2007, from, http://xiandos.info/NATO

1. Introduction: The purpose of this term paper will be to present the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is the most important alliance the world has ever seen and it definitely has influenced all of our lives. This awakens interest into getting to know this important organization better. What exactly is this organisation? What are its goals and how did it shape the world of today? With this term paper I want to answer these questions. Furthermore I want to give an overview about current issues and a short introduction to the structure of this organisation. Afterwards I want to face up critical aspects concerning NATO. But first and foremost

what actually is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an alliance that to this date and time consists of 26 countries that want to accomplish the goals that are written down in the North Atlantic Treaty also known as the Washington Treaty (Mary Campbell, 2002, a) that was signed on 4th April 1949 in Washington, DC. The treatys duration of validity isnt set for its member states, but they must stick to the signed treaty for at least 20 years and only after this period they are allowed to resign membership (Fritzler, 1995). You can say that the NATO is the leading world power, combining two of the most important and most influential areas namely the United States and most of Europe it is the biggest alliance there is on this planet. It does not only pursue its aims by military means but also by cooperating and finding consensus on a political level. Thus the NATO has helped both to establish and to keep a persistent peaceful living space in most parts of the world. This was and is only possible by trying to fight persistently for its goals but what precisely are these goals?

What is the aim of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? The NATO has the aim to safeguard its member states and to keep safety and freedom available in these areas. The exact goals are written down in the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4th April 1949 and that comprises 14 articles (Fritzler, 1995). The organization is willing to protect and pursue its goals by both political and military means. To really understand the core of NATOs ambitions it is helpful to read article 5: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation [NATO], 2007, a, manifests that the member states "agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all () including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area." In this article you can see what the significance of founding this alliance was, being the leading world power, the NATO is able to really ensure the security of all its member states. No sane apprehension would even try to attack one of those 26 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since it is known that an attack of one of those 26 countries is regarded as an attack against them all. There is no equivalent opponent to the NATO and its partner countries. This is definitely one of the organisations main strategies. Not fighting personally but psychologically by building deterrence against enemies and thus making them act peacefully (History of NATO, 1999). Furthermore the treaty states in the first of its 14 articles that the behaviour of any of its member states must be peaceful and none of their actions may be against the will of the United Nations (NATO, 2007, a). The whole treaty is kept quite wide-ranged in its language so that it can be interpreted differently each time, this makes it possible to be flexible in decisions and the treaty doesnt have to be constructed newly for every case.

Moreover all of its members have the same rights and duties except on basis of nuclear weapons (Wahlkurs Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 2000, a). But the North Atlantic Treaty also has economical aims for instance expanding wealth or the elimination of economical differences. These goals are always watched upon by the background of security and growth (NATO, 2004, b). By being aware of this background it is interesting to know how this organisation developed and how it shaped and still shapes the world of today.

History, main facts and current issues of the NATO The NATO arose as a result from certain circumstances and events in the 1940s. Especially the situation in Europe after World War 2 ended in 1945. This world changing event can be seen as the spark responsible for the arisal of this alliance. After Germany lost World War 2, the USSR (Union of Socialist Soviet Republics) tried to expand itself in Europe and pursued its policy aggressively. By this time the USSR was the most powerful authority in Europe. This displayed a threat by the Soviet Union not only for Europe but also for North America and thus made it necessary to build up some alliance to be able to fight against the power of the Soviets (Wahlkurs Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 2000, a ). This continuing rivalry between the United States and The Soviet Union is known as the Cold War (History of NATO, 1999). The NATO developed out of 2 sources, the Truman Doctrine and the Brussels Treaty which can both be seen as a prestage of the North Atlantic Treaty (Mary Campbell, 2002, a). When this treaty was introduced in 1949, 12 countries signed this treaty and these 12 founders were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the

United States (Simon Jeffery, 2003). At first there were some arguments that Iceland, Portugal and Norway shouldnt become members because they were seen as geographically and culturally too far away from the core of the North Atlantic Treaty (Mary Campbell, 2002, a). But soon the opponents gave up und accepted these countries as full members. Simon Jeffery (2003) said that an equal situation came up when Turkey and Greece wanted to join in 1952. The main reason for not wanting them in the alliance was that both of these countries werent democracies but again the opponents couldnt do anything against the participation of these countries. The joining of these two members was the first expansion of the NATO. In 1954 the organisation presented its strategy of massive retaliation (Massive Retaliation, (date unknown)). The growing menace of the Soviet Union had to be countered somehow. Therefore President Eisenhower who had become the first supreme commander of the NATO in 1950 (Timeline: NATO, 2007) set up this policy that became an official part of NATO thinking. The topic was that if any of the NATO countries was attacked in fact only Europe was the centre of attention for attacks at this time - the NATO would strike back using nuclear force. This idea could be assisted by the fact that the Soviet Union was in possession of less nuclear weapons than the NATO and thus was inferior (Wahlkurs Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 2000, b). Of course nobody wanted to wage war by using atomic bombs but the United States didnt want to give the SU any chance for attacks and therefore deterring the Soviets with nuclear weapons seemed to be the most efficient option. Thus this policy was held on even after the era of Eisenhower (Massive Retaliation, (date unknown)). But in the late 60s this policy of massive retaliation became unreliable because the

Soviets were able to produce enough atomic weapons to become equal to the NATO. Then in the year of 1955 the Federal Republic of Germany became a member of the NATO. The Soviets answer to this was the formation of an alliance (Timeline: NATO, 2007). This was one of the biggest threats the NATO had to face until now. Communist nations of Eastern Europe Albania, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania - formed an alliance with the Soviet Union (Simon Jeffery, 2003). This alliance is known as the Warsaw Pact and was led by the Soviets. The ambition was to found a counterforce against the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and thus becoming the leading world power (History of NATO, 1999). In 1966 Charles de Gaulle president of France had the intention of objecting the NATO military structure and thus wanted to protest against the dominance of the United States (Simon Jeffery, 2003). This was the first sign of a member objecting key facts of NATO. But in 1993 France rejoined and accepted the military structure of the organisation (Timeline: NATO, 2007). Until today there are many opponents of the USs dominance in this alliance but more on this topic later. One year later (1967) the new NATO headquarters opened in Brussels (Timeline: NATO, 2007). In the year of 1982 Spain joined the NATO. After the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s NATO went through a transformation. In 1991 the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union were dissolved (Warsaw Pact, (date unknown)) and now there was no need for countering these powers any more. Therefore the strategic environment was changing nearly entirely (NATO, 2004, b). The North Atlantic Cooperation Council
8

(NACC) was introduced for consultations between the former Soviet states and NATO members (NACC, 2007). A major step for NATO was the formation of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) in 1994 (Mary Campbell, 2002, b). This new policy allowed also non-member states to negotiate with NATO in regard for peacekeeping issues. Then in 1997 the Euro Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) was introduced. Its purpose was to fulfil the intentions of the PfP and it replaced the NACC. Today The EACP comprises the 26 member states of the NATO as well as 20 other partner states (White House, 2004). NATO led its first military strike in 1995. This was an air-strike against Bosnian Serb positions to reintroduce peace in the area (Simon Jeffery, 2003). The fourth expansion of NATO in 1999 introduced 3 new members: The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. These 3 countries were the first members that once were part of the Soviet bloc. Also in 1999 the NATO began to attack Serb positions with the aim to end the conflict in Kosovo. This was the first time the NATO acted against the will of the UN and thus offended against its own maxims (Timeline: NATO, 2007). After the attacks on 11th September 2001, NATO declared that the attacks against the United States were an attack against all NATO members, just like article 5 states. Thus the NATO is willing to support the United States in its fight against terrorism and this fight is yet to find an end (NATO, 2006, c). The fifth, and until today last, expansion of NATO took place in 2004. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined NATO. The alliance now finally comprised 26 members. And it still does today. On the next page there is a figure on which the 26 member states are visible. Clearly

recognizable is the fact that there is enough space for further expansion. It is only limited by the NATO requirements.
Figure 1, The 26 NATO member states

Note. From "NATO" by Xiando.info retrieved May 4, 2007, from, http://xiandos.info/NATO

Since 2003 NATO is also involved in supporting Afghanistan to recreate and stabilise itself. This is seen as necessary for international security (NATO, 2007, d). The operation is one the biggest and most important ones the NATO ever had to deal with, because NATO is leading the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) (NATO, 2006, c) which in turn deploys more than 30,000 troops. NATO is present in Afghanistan until today with a high number of soldiers. The aim is to help the Afghanistan government to restructure the country and to develop itself both economically and politically. There was the need for more and more troops to be sent to Afghanistan as recently in February 2007 because the Taliban fought harder than expected. Especially Britain and the US wanted to persuade other NATO members but failed (Timeline: NATO, 2007). Moskau stoppt (2007) says that Russia will stop to inform NATO about inland troop movements. This will lead to further mysterious behaviour from

10

Russia and since NATO and Russia are partners this obviously will harm their relationship. But there are also positive issues to mention. For example NATO invited 5 new countries in 2007: Albania, Croatia, Georgia, Macedonia and Ukraine (Embassy of the United States London, 2007). An aim of todays NATO leading heads is to create a force of multinational troops that can be deployed instantly and that contains about 21,000 troops (Mary Campbell, 2002, b). Being in possession of this force means that NATO can intervene everywhere on earth rapidly und thus enlarge its authority. Recently the United States declared that they want to install a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, its purpose is to counter the threat of future Iran nuclear weapons. On 19th April 2007 the NATO-Russia council had a meeting in which Russia declared its concerns regarding this system but they could be convinced that it wouldnt be a threat to Russia at all (NATO, 2007, e). Conclusion of this meeting was that the US missile defence system should be brought to compatibility with the planned NATO system that shall safeguard the territory (F.A.Z., 2007).

NATOs structure NATO is no alliance with its own lead. That means that decisions have to be made on consensus whereby every member has the right to have their opinion heard (Varwick & Woyke, 1999). But of course there is an agency that leads the NATO. Every single one of the 26 countries sends a representative to the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Those representatives form the North Atlantic Council (NAC) (NATO, 2002, f). This council meets at least once a week. Its purpose is to make the decisions concerning all levels of NATO and publishing
11

them to the general public. The headquarters in Brussels also serves as a site for meetings and dialogues (NATO, 2005, g). Furthermore you can distinguish between 2 types of structures, the military structure and the civilian structure. The already mentioned headquarters is part of the civil structure. The International Staff (IS) that is also part of the civil structure comprises lots of agencies like management bureaus and so on (Varwick & Woyke, 1999). The military structure consists of the Allied Command Europe (ACE), which is divided in several military Allied Forces, the Allied Command Atlantic (ACLANT) and the Allied Command Staffs of the different regions (Wahlkurs Politik und Zeitgeschichte , 2000, c).

Evaluation All in all NATO has proven over the decades that it definitely was and still is one of the most important organisations in our modern world. 35 years without any war in Europe speaks for itself. This is definitely a big achievement that primarily can be seen as a result to the deterrent effect of NATO. Due to the fact that NATOs extend hasnt come to an end yet and there will be more countries joining this organisation in the future, I definitely think that this continuous expansion of NATO will lead to further security. Nevertheless there were also lots of military conflicts throughout the world that couldnt be avoided or warded off by the existence of NATO. This doesnt only concern non-member states, but also conflicts between NATO members were unavoidable. For instance the conflict between Turkey and Greek over Cyprus or between Iceland and Great Britain couldnt be bypassed by the NATO (Wahlkurs Politik und Zeitgeschichte , 2000, a).
12

One of the biggest controversial subjects about NATO is that the US government seems to be superior to other members inside NATO. You already heard about Frances rejection of NATO military structure in 1966. As stated in Reinecke (2000) decisions that are made in Washington, DC have to be accepted by Western Europe. This led to a slowly evolving alienation of Europe. The United States pursues different objects and they dont care if the rest of the NATO agrees with them. An obvious example for this would be the war in Afghanistan. Many people, for example Reinecke (2000) says that the alliance at least how it exists today - will soon come to an end. The reason for that is mainly the already mentioned further discrepancy between US- and European interests. But I am convinced of the fact that even if this will happen someday, it wont be too soon. Additionally there are concepts that say that the EU should not put much effort in trying to bring safety to the world, this should remain the NATOs main concern, so the EU can focus on pursuing its own safety policy (Bertram, 1997). So all in all I think you can say that NATO definitely contributed to the relatively peaceful world that we live in, but of course there were and still are things that can be improved.

13

References:

Bertram, C. (1997). Europa in der Schwebe

Embassy of the United States London, 2007, U.S. Endorses Future NATO Expansion, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://london.usembassy.gov/nato237.html

F.A.Z., 2007, Nato Raketenabwehr keine Bedrohung Russlands, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.faz.net/s/RubDDBDABB9457A437BAA85A49C26FB23A0/Do c~E293B9BFD9B7C4440B1D796592B8A2FBC~ATpl~Ecommon~Scont ent.html

Fritzler, M. (1995). Stichwort NATO

History of NATO, 1999, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://members.tripod.com/more_tra/1e_nato_txt.htm

Mary Campbell, 2002, a, A Brief History of NATO, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://prague.tv/articles/zine/brief-history-of-nato

Mary Campbell, 2002, b, A Brief History of NATO, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://prague.tv/articles/zine/brief-history-of-nato?part=3

14

Massive Retaliation, (date unknown), retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.iwar.org.uk/military/resources/aspc/text/excur/massret.htm

Moskau stoppt Informationen von Truppenbewegungen. (2007, May 4), Neue Zrcher Zeitung, p. 2

NACC, 2007, Fact sheet: North Atlantic Cooperation Council, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1584/is_n52_v3/ai_13420873

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, 2007, a, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/treaty.htm

NATO, 2004, b, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nato.int/docu/nato-trans/nato-trans-eng.pdf

NATO, 2006, c, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nato.int/issues/faq/index.html

NATO, 2007, d, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nato.int/issues/afghanistan/index.html

NATO, 2007, e, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2007/04-april/e0419a.html

15

NATO, 2002, f, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nato.int/docu/handbook/2001/hb070101.htm

NATO, 2005, g, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.nato.int/issues/nato_hq/index.html

Reinecke, S. (2000). Die neue NATO

Simon Jeffery, 2003, Timeline: NATO, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/nato/story/0,,893517,00.html Timeline: NATO, 2007, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1543000.stm

Varwick, J. / Woyke, W. (1999). NATO 2000

Wahlkurs Politik und Zeitgeschichte , 2000, a, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.christoph-scheinergymnasium.de/projekte/comenius2000/entstehung.htm Wahlkurs Politik und Zeitgeschichte , 2000, b, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.christoph-scheinergymnasium.de/projekte/comenius2000/strategie.htm#2.1 Wahlkurs Politik und Zeitgeschichte , 2000, c, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.christoph-scheinergymnasium.de/projekte/comenius2000/struktur.htm Warsaw Pact, (date unknown), retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.warsaw-life.com/poland/warsaw-pact

16

White House, 2004, Fact Sheet: Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, retrieved May 13, 2007, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040628-5.html

17