Global News

Last month marked the 70th anniversary of the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Formed post-World War II, it is a political, military and a diplomatic alliance between the United States and its allies — primarily European nations. 

The need for such a grouping arose in the backdrop of the Cold War, where the US and its allies wanted to protect their interests from aggression and expansionism of the Soviet bloc.

The NATO treaty was signed on April 4, 1949 by the US, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom, wherein Article 5 outlined the NATO’s motto — ‘Collective Defense’. It stated that an attack on any one of its members would be considered an attack on all the NATO members. 

That, effectively, puts West Europe under the US’s ‘nuclear umbrella’. The collective strength of NATO has been unmatched by any other military grouping in the last seven decades, including the Warsaw Pact, which was created by the Soviet bloc as a response to NATO.

NATO’s deterrence has also been formidable as no country or group of countries possess the wherewithal and capability to challenge its collective might. 

However, NATO has faced serious challenges while fighting non-state actors, especially post-Cold War. After the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO had to redefine its aims and goals since there was no Soviet Union left to contain. Therefore, the NATO alliance shifted its focus towards countering terrorism.

Source:
https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-russia-s-resurgence-and-china-s-rise-will-test-nato-2749888