What is NATO:
- The North Atlantic Treaty Organizationalso called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance among 28 European countries and 2 North American countries.
- Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty, signed 4 April 1949.
- NATO constitutes a system of collective security, whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.
- NATO is officially headed up by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. he will remain leader of NATO until September 2022.
- NATO’s headquarters are based in Brussels, Belgium in a modern, glass building located on Boulevard Leopold III. This has been it’s permanent base since 1967 after first being based in London and then Paris for a short while in 1952. It is home to NATO’s North Atlantic Council who make key political decisions, plus delegates representing member countries
What is NATO’s purpose?
- In a nutshell, NATO’s purpose is to provide support, security and a united front when one of its member countries are threated by another.When the 12 founding nations sat down to sign the treaty in 1949, they agreed to “safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of the peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.”
- NATO describe themselves as both a political and military alliance who prioritises both in their work:
- Political:“NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.”
- Military:“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.”
Historically, NATO have intervened in a number of conflicts. This includes ones in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Libya.
- During the current Russian invasion, several NATO member countries have pledged military aid to Ukraine. US president Joe Biden has announced $350 million worth of American weapons will be dispatched. Whilst UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament that they would give “lethal aid in the form of defensive weapons and non-lethal aid”.
- Additionally, the Netherlands plans to supply air defence rockets and anti-tank systems to Ukraine. France have given defensive anti-aircraft and digital weapons. And Romania – who shares a border with Ukraine – has sent fuel, armour and additional military material. Whilst also offering to treat wounded citizens in it’s 11 military hospitals.
Expansion of NATO :
- The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows for the invitation of “other European States” only, and by subsequent agreements.
- Countries wishing to join must meet certain requirements and complete a multi-step process involving political dialogue and military integration. The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s governing body.
- After its formation in 1949 with twelve founding members, NATO grew rapidly by including Greeceand Turkey in 1952 and West Germany in 1955.
- The addition of West Germany into NATO prompted the Soviet Union to adopt their own collective security alliance, informally called the Warsaw Pact later that same year.
- The next country to join NATO was Spainin 1982. In the late 1980s, the Soviet Union and NATO agreed that reunified Germany would continue West Germany’s NATO membership, although restrictions were agreed to on the deployment of NATO troops on the territory of the former East Germany.
- Following the collapse of both the Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union, NATO began expanding eastwards.
- This expansionist policy was met with opposition by the Soviet Union and later the Russian Federation. In 1996, US PresidentBill Clinton called for former Warsaw Pact countries and post-Soviet republics join NATO and made NATO enlargement a crucial part of his foreign-policy.
- Three years later, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republicjoined NATO, amid much debate within NATO itself and fierce Russian opposition.
- Another expansion came with the accession of seven Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
- These nations were invited to begin membership talks during the 2002 Prague summit, and joined NATO shortly before the 2004 Istanbul summit. Albania and Croatia joined on 1 April 2009, prior to the 2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit.
- The most recent member states to be added to NATO are Montenegroon 5 June 2017 and North Macedonia on 27 March 2020.
- As of 2022, NATO officially recognizes three states which have formally expressed their membership aspirations: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine.
- Joining NATO is a topic of debate in several other countries outside the alliance, including Sweden, Finland, and Serbia.
- In some countries like Ukraine, support or opposition to membership is tied to ethnic and nationalist ideologies. The incorporation of former Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union countries has been a cause of increased tension between NATO countries and Russia.
- NATO expansionism is one factor Russian PresidentVladimir Putin gave in justifying the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Why in news :
- There’s is some existing bad blood between Russia and NATO. In 2002, a Russia-NATO Council was formed to establish open communication and handle security issues and joint projects.
- However, this was suspended in 2014 when Russia first invaded and occupied the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine.
- Ukraine did apply for NATO membership in 2008, however the organisation decided against them joining. Despite this Ukraine remains a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (joined 1991) and the Partnership for Peace programme (joined 1994).
- A renewed effort to gain membership was brought about by Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2020. He approved Ukraine’s new National Security Strategy which explicity stated that joining NATO was a primary goal.
- This efforts of Ukraine to be a part of NATO has became a key reason for the invasion by Russia.
Why is Nato not intervening in Russia – Ukraine :
- Ukraine is not a member of Nato, so the alliance is not obliged to come to its defence.
- It is only a “partner” country, meaning there is an understanding it might join at some point in the future.
- Nato countries have also made it plain that if their troops were to confront Russian forces in Ukraine, it could lead to an all-out conflict between Russia and the west.
- US President Joe Biden has said: “That’s a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another.”
- Nato has also rejected imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, to deny Russia air superiority and protect civilians.
- One reason is that it wants to avoid conflict between Russian and its air forces. Another reason is that Nato planes, which are trying to protect themselves from attack, might need to fire anti-radiation missiles (ARMs) at radar installations on Russian territory.
- Russia could use this as a reason to declare war on Nato countries.