What is NATO?

 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military

alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called
the Washington Treaty) of April, 1949, by the United States,
Canada, and several Western European nations to provide
collective security against the Soviet Union.
 There are currently 30 member states.

o Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark,

France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
o Joining the original signatories were Greece and
Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955, from 1990 as
Germany), Spain (1982), the Czech Republic, Hungary, and
Poland (1999), Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,
Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (2004), Albania and
Croatia (2009), Montenegro (2017), and North
Macedonia (2020).
o France withdrew from the integrated military command of
NATO in 1966 but remained a member of the organization, it
resumed its position in NATO’s military command in 2009.
 Recently, Finland and Sweden have shown interest to
join NATO.
 Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.
 Headquarters of Allied Command Operations: Mons, Belgium.
What are the Objectives of NATO?
 NATO’s essential and enduring purpose is to safeguard the
freedom and security of all its members by political and
military means.

o Political objectives: NATO promotes democratic values and

enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and
security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in
the long run, prevent conflict.
o Military Objectives: NATO is committed to the peaceful
resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the
military power to undertake crisis-management operations.

 These are carried out under the collective defence clause

of NATO's founding treaty - Article 5 of the Washington
Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in
cooperation with other countries and international
organisations.
 NATO has only once invoked Article 5, on September 12,
2001 following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade
Center in the US.
How does NATO Function?
 NATO has an integrated military command structure but very
few forces or assets are exclusively its own.

o Most forces remain under full national command and

control until member countries agree to undertake NATO-
related tasks.
 All 30 allies have an equal say, the Alliance’s decisions must be
unanimous and consensual, and its members must respect the
basic values that underpin the Alliance, namely democracy,
individual liberty and the rule of law.
 NATO's protection does not extend to members' civil wars or
internal coups.
 NATO is funded by its members. The U.S. contributes roughly
three-fourths of NATO's budget.

Why did NATO Originate?

 After World War II in 1945, western Europe was economically
exhausted and militarily weak (the western Allies had rapidly
and drastically reduced their armies at the end of the war).
 In 1948 the United States launched the Marshall Plan, which
infused massive amounts of economic aid to the countries of
western and southern Europe on the condition that they cooperate
with each other and engage in joint planning to hasten their
mutual recovery.

o As for military recovery, under the Brussels Treaty of 1948,

the United Kingdom, France, and the Low Countries—
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg—concluded a
collective-defense agreement called the Western European
Union.


  It was soon recognized, however, that a more formidable
alliance would be required to provide an adequate military
counterweight to the Soviets.
 In March 1948, following a virtual communist coup d’état
in Czechoslovakia in February, the three governments
began discussions on a multilateral collective-defense
scheme that would enhance Western security and
promote democratic values.
 These discussions were eventually joined by France, the
Low Countries, and Norway and in April 1949 resulted in
the North Atlantic Treaty.
 At the end of World War 2, the deteriorating relations between
the United States and the USSR eventually led to the Cold War.

o The USSR sought to expand its influence in Europe through

the spread of communism, while the US saw the ideology of
the USSR as a threat to its way of life.
 In 1955, when the Cold War was gaining momentum, the Soviet
Union signed up socialist republics of Central and Eastern
Europe to the Warsaw Pact (1955). The Pact, essentially
a political-military alliance, was viewed as a direct strategic
counterweight to NATO.

o It included Albania (which withdrew in 1968), Bulgaria,

Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and
Romania.
o The Pact was officially disbanded in early 1991 after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union itself.
What are the Alliances of NATO?
 NATO participates in three alliances that expand its influence
beyond its 30 member countries.

o Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC): It is a 50-nation

multilateral forum for dialogue and consultation on political
and security-related issues among Allies and partner
countries.

 It provides the overall political framework for NATO’s

cooperation with partner countries in the Euro-Atlantic
area, and for the bilateral relationships developed
between NATO and individual partner countries under
the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme.

 The Partnership for Peace (PfP) is a programme of

practical bilateral cooperation between individual
Euro-Atlantic partner countries and NATO.
 It allows partners to build up an individual relationship
with NATO, choosing their own priorities for
cooperation.
 Established in 1997, the EAPC succeeded the North
Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), which was set
up in 1991 just after the end of the Cold War.
o Mediterranean Dialogue: It is a partnership forum that aims
to contribute to security and stability in NATO’s
Mediterranean and North African neighbourhood, and
promote good relations and understanding among
participating countries and NATO Allies.
 Currently, the following non-NATO countries take part in
the Dialogue: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania,
Morocco and Tunisia.
o Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI): It is a partnership
forum that aims to contribute
contr to long-term
term global and
regional security by offering non-NATO
NATO countries in the
broader Middle East region the opportunity to cooperate with
NATO.

 Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates

currently participate in the Initiative.