NATO: Past, present, future

Résumé du document

Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is always in the news, and has remained so for 58 years. NATO refers to the organization, (the institutions and military capacities,) that was created by the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in April 1949 by 12 Occidental countries. In the context of the Cold War, this treaty aimed at protecting Europe from a Russian invasion. This goal may now seem a little anachronistic. The Cold War is over, and new threats, such as terrorism, are now emerging, that NATO has to challenge if it still wants to have a leading role in the international security game. In addition, the emergence of the European Union, and the creation, of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) since 1998, makes many wonder if NATO and the EU are complementary, or if the co-existence of these two institutions is a waste of time and money, as they have the same objective: protecting the European territory. This leads us to study the evolutions has NATO gone through since its creation, and analyze if it has been able to adapt to these emerging and evolving challenges.

Extraits

[...] NATO: Past, present, future NATO: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization - is everywhere in the news, and has remained so for 58 years. NATO refers to the organization, that is to say the institutions and military capacities, that were created by the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in April 1949 by 12 Occidental countries. In the context of the Cold War, this treaty aimed at protecting Europe from a Russian invasion, which now might seem a bit anachronistic. [...]

[...] The troubled relationship between NATO and Russia In February 2007, Vladimir Putin said the enlargement is a serious provocation and a threat to the European security. Moreover, and even if NATO and Russia created in 2002 a NATO-Russia Council, the relationships between these two parties are complicated: summer, Russia announced its decision to suspend the application of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE). All these problems highlight the fear of Russia to be evicted from a large defense process it is not part of, and its desire to acquire a greater military strength on the international scene Which NATO for which ambitions ? [...]

[...] But do NATO membercountries really want this institution to evolve in order to adapt itself to the 21st century's stakes? Bibliography : Les débats au congrès américain sur l'OTAN et la PESD, Etude, Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques, Barthélemy Courmont, November 2002 Points de mire : l'élargissement de l'OTAN, enjeux politiques et sécuritaires pour l'Europe, Centre d'Etude des Politiques Etrangères et de Sécurité, vol October 12th 2004 Rapport d'information n°405 fait au nom de la commission des Affaires étrangères, de la défense et des forces armées sur l'évolution de l'OTAN, Sénat, Session extraordinaire 2006-2007, annexe au procès verbal de la séance du 19 juillet 2007 L'OTAN après la guerre froide, la Documentation Française, April 2007, http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/dossiers/otan/index.shtml Nato, the European Union, And the Atlantic Community: The Transatlantic Bargain Challenged, Stanley R. [...]

[...] NATO member-countries are trying hard to adapt this institution to today's stakes, by deploying NATO troops or by developing new working frameworks. But it seems that the challenges NATO is facing are on a higher level, and are related to its relationships with external actors, such as the European Union and Russia, that are both competing with NATO, the former because it has the same objectives than NATO, and the latter because it feels threatened by this organization. Solutions must be found to these problems quickly if NATO still wants to have a great international role. [...]

[...] Controversies and stakes around the present NATO Before I conclude this presentation, I'd like to highlight the fact that the main problems for NATO today are truly basic, and concern the role it should play, and the identity it should have. Which military role for NATO ? The first question is that of the role NATO should play, given the present post Cold War international context. This question was highly debated in Riga: NATO focus on peacekeeping and stabilization operations? [...]