NATO Mission and Introduction for Public on International Security

This slidedeck is an introduction to NATO and the security alliance.

1. NATO/OTAN
•The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
•Organisationdu traitéde l’AtlantiqueNord

2. North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)
•Military or defense alliance formed in 1949 by
12 countries in Western Europe and North
America
•Original purpose –to protect its members from a
possible attack from the Soviet Union
•An alliance of nations with shared values. All
members are DEMOCRACIES
•Has been the most important U.S. alliance for
the past (almost) 70 years

3. NATO Treaty –Article 5
•“The Parties agree that an armed attack against
one or more of them in Europe or North America
shall be considered an attack against them all…”
•No NATO member was ever attacked during the
Cold War –it never had to use its military forces
•The first (and only) time a NATO member was
attacked was…
•September 11, 2001

4. 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 (Albania withdrew in 1968)

5. Who is in NATO?
•1949 –12 Original Members:
•Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the
United Kingdom and the United States.
•The other member countries are: Greece and Turkey
(1952), Germany (1955), Spain (1982), the Czech
Republic, Hungary and Poland (1999), Bulgaria,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and
Slovenia (2004), Albania and Croatia (2009), and
Montenegro (2017).

6. Eastward Expansion
•As democracy spread throughout Eastern Europe,
NATO is adding new members
•1999 –Three former Warsaw Pact members were
admitted into NATO
•Poland
•Hungary
•The Czech Republic
•2002 –Seven former communist states in Eastern
Europe added
•Estonia
•Latvia
•Lithuania
•Slovenia
•Slovakia
•Bulgaria

7. NATO

8. 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 26 NATO
members
•Be an “equal partner” in discussions on key topics

9. 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

10. NATO

11. NATO

12. NATO

13. NATO

14. NATO

15. PfP
•Based on a commitment to democratic principles, the purpose of the
Partnership for Peace is to increase stability, diminish threats to peace and
build strengthened security relationships between NATO and non-member
countries in the Euro-Atlantic area.
•The PfP was established in 1994 to enable participants to develop an
individual relationship with NATO, choosing their own priorities for
cooperation, and the level and pace of progress.
•Activities on offer under the PfP programme touch on virtually every field of
NATO activity.
•Since April 2011, all PfP activities and exercises are in principle open to all
NATO partners, be they from the Euro-Atlantic region, the Mediterranean
Dialogue, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative or global partners.
•Currently, there are 21 countries in the Partnership for Peace programme.
See Handouts

16. NATO

17. South-Eastern Europe SIMulation

18. NATO

19. NATO

20. NATO

21. Today’s Challenges
•Russia has become more assertive with the illegal annexation of Crimea and
destabilization of eastern Ukraine, as well as its military build-up close to
NATO’s borders.
•The security situation in the Middle East and Africa has deteriorated, causing
loss of life, fueling large-scale migration flows and inspiring terrorist attacks.
•The spread of weapons of mass destruction, cyber attacks and threats to energy
supplies as well as environmental challenges with security implications.

22. NATO
The new headquarters provides space for:
•1,500 personnel from national delegations
•1,700 international military and civilian staff
•650 staff from NATO agencies
•frequent visitors, currently some 500 per day
Concluding Remarks and ?s