April 4, 1949 witnessed the signing of the Treaty of the North Atlantic (or Atlantic Pact) thus marking the birth of the NATO military alliance between the United States, Canada and 10 European countries: France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Italy. The original purpose of organization is inseparable from the geopolitical context of the Cold War, it is a direct emanation. NATO wants an alliance to defend Western Europe against the Soviet threat. Proof of this crucial historical inscription, the USSR reacted to the accession of the FRG to the Atlantic Alliance with the signing of the Warsaw Pact, officially named the "Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance", on May 14, 1955.
The end of the Cold War, symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the former Soviet empire opened a period of doubt for NATO. The disappearance of the conditions that led to its birth could imply that the organization would die a natural death, once its mission was accomplished. "What is the future for NATO? " wondered Andre Dumoulin in 1997. The emergence of the European Union as an international player, in fact, seemed to have lead to the creation of an autonomous European defense force, intended to ensure its own defense.
But it did not happen. Instead, the intervention under the aegis of NATO in Afghanistan has demonstrated the vitality of the organization while sparking debate about the limitations of its action, including among members of the Alliance. The Riga Summit in November 2006 did not lead to a common vision of the future. International organization registered in the context of the Cold War, and NATO is now at crossroads, uncertain of its future.
The context of the Cold War has presided over the destinies of NATO for almost forty years. The purpose of the organization is the balance of power between the two blocks. Despite the front of an alliance for military cooperation, NATO is nevertheless dominated by the U.S. leadership.
In the words of Gilles Andreani, "NATO is a product of the Cold War." Its missions are included in the dominant East-West confrontation of 1947 to early 1990 (1).
Signed on April 4, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty establishes an alliance that, originally, was no different from the classical model of defensive alliances: to organize the defense of Western Europe against the threats posed by the Soviet empire.
From the outset, the Treaty was part of international law. Borrowing and reference to the UN Charter are numerous:
• Article 1 of the Treaty: affirmation of the principle of using peaceful means of conflict resolution
• Article 5: The Atlantic Alliance is organizing a collective security mechanism between the States Parties to the Treaty on the basis of Article 51 of the UN Charter which authorizes "the inherent right of individual or collective" to respond "to an armed attack."
• Article 7: reference to the responsibility first and foremost the UN Security Council in maintaining peace and international security.
Tags: Cold War, UN Charter, UN Security Council
[...] Command structures are combined and integrated: Until 2003, the military command structure was based on geographical divisions: one for the Allied Command Europe and one for the Atlantic. Since 2003, all operational function is concentrated in a single command: the Allied Command Operations more commonly known as Shape (for " Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers "in Europe based in Mons . This command directs three joint staffs based in Brunssum (Netherlands) to Lisbon (Portugal) and Naples (Italy), and six specialized staffs: Air Staff ( Izmir (Turkey) and Ramstein (Germany ) Staff earth Heidelberg (Germany) and Madrid (Spain) Staff sea Northwood Naples (Italy). [...]
[...] Three states are now candidates: Macedonia, Albania and Croatia. At the same time, members were attached to reassure Russia, angered by this progression of the borders of the Alliance and the interventionism of the organization Extended fields of intervention A redefinition of NATO After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the redefinition of NATO missions in the form of the development of a "new strategic concept" had two important steps was the year to develop the new "strategic concept", discussed within the Alliance and adopted in Rome in November. [...]
[...] ) the political independence or security of any Parties is threatened. " The last two structures have played an important role in the context of a progressive enlargement of NATO. Military structures Two intergovernmental structures such as: • the Military Committee which is the supreme military structure, under the authority of the North Atlantic Council and SCP. It is composed of the Chiefs of Staff of the States. Its mission is to improve or update the device of the common defense organization and to issue directives to operational commands. [...]
[...] The Atlantic Alliance: Western solidarity in the world of the Cold War The context of the Cold War has presided over NATO for nearly forty years. The purpose of the organization is in the balance of power between the two blocks Alliance military cooperation, and NATO is not less dominated by U.S. leadership Organizing a collective security alliance of Western As written by Gilles Andreani, "NATO is a product of the Cold War ".Its missions are listed in the East-West confrontation dominant from 1947 until the early 1990s A specific purpose by the Cold War Signed on 4 April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty establishes an alliance that, originally, was not unlike the classic defensive alliances It aims to organize the defense of Western Europe against the threats posed by the Soviet empire. [...]
[...] • The Kosovo crisis : NATO intervened militarily again, to force the Belgrade authorities to stop the repression of Kosovo Albanians. From April 1999, it played an important role in the international force KFOR peacekeeping, responsible for ensuring the safety of the province pending a final settlement of their status. Both missions were conducted for the purpose of previous resolutions of the Security Council of the UN. NATO appears as "an operator of the UN" (G. Andreani). However, if the formal approval of the Board was real in 1995, the bombing of 1999 remained legally controversial. [...]
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