The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO)

• Dr. Manzoor Ahmad Naazer,

• Assistant Professor, IIUI
 Background
• World War–II, military, political and economic
decline of Western European Nations, part. France,
U.K, (Italy and Germany being totally defeated).
Germany being occupied by Allied Powers.
• Emergence of the US and USSR as super powers.
• Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe.
• Winston Churchill’s “iron curtain” speech.
• Berlin Crises.
• Soviet Threat to Western European countries.
 Response to Soviet Threat
NATO was grown out of the Brussels treaty of 1948 which was
signed by the following 5 states: Belgium, Netherland, Luxembourg,
France and United Kingdom.
In 1954, West Germany and Italy were also inducted in this defense
and security organization (occupation of West Germany was ended).
• On May 6, 1955, it was renamed as WEU.
• Portugal & Spain joined it in 1990 Greece in 1995.
• WEU had 06 associate members (Turkey, Poland, Norway, Iceland,
Hungary and the Czech Republic), 5 observers (Austria, Denmark,
Finland, Ireland and Sweden) and 7 associate partners (Bulgaria,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia).
• WEU served as a primary defense org of EU in 1990s to 2001.
• In March 2010 WEU members decided to cease its operations and it
was officially closed in June 2011.
 Creation of NATO
• NATO was created as a collective defense organization by
Treaty of Washington signed on April 4, 1949.
• Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
• Article –5 of the agreement Provided for collective defense:
It stated: “That an armed attack against one or more of them
(the parties to the treaty) in Europe or North America shall
be considered as an attack against all”.
• It requires all members states to assist the members attacked
however, members’ sovereignty has been preserved by
induction of the provision that each member can take only
such action “as it deems necessary”.
 Geographic Scope
• Article - 6 of the Treaty defines the geographic
scope of the treaty by stating that “an armed attack
on the territory of any of the parties in Europe or
North America.”
• Other articles commit the allies to strengthen their
democratic institutions, to build their collective
military capability, to consult each other, and to
remain open to inviting other European states to join
NATO.
 Membership and Purpose:
• Currently it has 31 members.
• Originally it was formed in 1949, as a Military
or defense alliance, by 12 countries in Western
Europe and North America
• Original purpose – to protect its members from a
possible attack from the Soviet Union (Containment)
• It was the first peacetime alliance in U.S. history
• An alliance of Members with shared values.
• All members are DEMOCRACIES
• It is the most important U.S. alliance since 1949.
• No NATO member was ever attacked during the
Cold War – it never had to use its military forces
during this period.
• The first (and only) time a NATO member was
attacked was…
• September 11, 2001
 NATO Membership:
• In 1949, the following12 Original Members had
signed the Defense Treaty:
• U.S. Canada Britain
• France Iceland Portugal
• Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg
• Denmark Italy Norway
• In 1952 two more members, a Little Farther from the North Atlantic
were inducted (as a demonstration of Truman Doctrine)
• Greece Turkey
• 1954 – A New Democracy also became member:
• West Germany (Germany since 1990)
• 1982 – after Death of Fascist Dictator Franco
• Spain
The NATO Alliance
 The Warsaw Pact
• 1955 - The Soviet response to the creation
of NATO
• Consisted of the Soviet Union and its six
satellite countries in Eastern Europe
• East Germany
• Poland
• Hungary
• Czechoslovakia
• Bulgaria
• Romania
• The Warsaw Pact no longer exists
 Eastward Expansion of NATO
• As democracy spread throughout Eastern Europe,
NATO added new members
• 1999 – Three former Warsaw Pact members were
admitted into NATO
• Poland Hungary The Czech Republic
• 2004 – Seven former communist states in Eastern
Europe added
• Estonia Latvia Lithuania Romania
Slovenia Slovakia Bulgaria
In 2009, two new members were admitted:
• Albania and Croatia
In 2017, Montenegro
In 2020, North Macedonia
In 2023, Finland
 Organizational Structure
• NATO has the following two main bodies:
• 1) North Atlantic Council and 2) The NATO Military
Committee
• 1. North Atlantic Council: It is NATO’s Principal organ
which comprises of the ministers (of defense or foreign
affairs) that meets twice a year. At other times, it remains in
sessions at ambassadorial levels.
• It is head by a Secretary General who has always been a
European. He chairs the meetings of the council as well as
prepares budgets, arranges meeting agendas, supervises the
secretariat, and represent NATO during meetings with
governments and at other international Organizations.
• Current NATO Secretary General is Jens Stoltenberg, the former
Prime Minister of Norway, who took office on 1 Oct. 2014.
• 2. The NATO Military Committee:
• It comprises of chiefs of staff or their representatives from
all members states except France (withdrew in 1960) and
supervises the integrated military command structure. It
defense area is divided into three command areas:
• Southern Europe
• Northern Europe
• The Atlantic
• These command areas work under a command of a single
the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).
• Eisenhower was the first person to hold this position before
becoming the US Presidents in 1952.
• Since then American generals held the position of SACEUR.
• The military committee subsumes two strategic
commands: Allied Command Operations (ACO)
and Allied Command Transformation (ACT).
• ACO is headed by the SACEUR and located at
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
(SHAPE) in Casteau, Belgium.
• ACT is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.

•
 FUNCTIONING OF NATO
• NATO helped maintain peace and stability in Europe in
cold war period. No war erupted in this period.
• NATO faced variety of stresses during its first 40
years of existence on these issues:
1. Presence of large number of US troops in Europe during
peace times, and its commitment to the European defense
were seriously questioned both at home and in Europe.
2. Burden Sharing: US always complained that European
members were paying and doing too little to enhance and
maintain their defense capabilities.
3. Defense doctrines like a massive retaliation, use of nuclear
weapons, and flexible response (reliance on conventional
forces)
 NATO in Post Cold War Period
• NATO faced the first challenge regarding its very
survival in the post cold war period as its critics
argued that NATO had no role to play once cold war
was over, its rival alliance WARSA pact had been
dissolved and Soviet Union disintegrated.
• After the much debate it was decided to maintain
and increase its role as a highly organized regional
cooperative security organization with enlarged
membership in post cold war era.
• In 1994, NATO signed an agreement with central
European and Central Asian States to establish the
partnership for peace (PFP) and in 1997 and 2004,
admitted 03 and 7 new members respectively.
• It also started negotiations with Russia, Belarus,
Ukraine and Kazakhstan to meet Western standards
of democracy, rule of law, individual liberties, open
economic and military organization etc.
 Important Activates/New Post
Cold War Role
• It decided to take a new role for European security.
• It helped stabilized Balkans. It took action against Serbs in
Bosnian in 1995 under UN Security Council authorization.
It bombed Serb positions, under took peace keeping and
peace building responsibilities.
• In 1999 NATO bombed Serbian forces in Kosovo and
ensured troops for implementation and helped resolve ethic
conflict.
• In 2001 it also assumed its role to provide troops for
international security assistance force (ISAF) sanctioned by
the UN in Afghanistan.
• In 2011, it launched air strikes against Qaddafi regime in Libya.
 2002
• How do
you
think
Russia
feels
about
this?
 NATO-Russia Council
• NATO-Russia Council
• This was a RAPPROCHEMENT between NATO
and Russia
• May 2002 – Both sides signed an agreement
• Russia WILL:
• Be given a say at the table with the NATO members
• Be an “equal partner” in discussions on key topics.
 NATO-Russia Council
• Russia WILL NOT:
• Be a member of NATO
• Be bound by NATO’s defense pact
• Have a veto over NATO’s decisions
• Have a vote over NATO’s expansion