Evaluating Nato Enlargement

Mobilizing an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners, this book reviews the history and consequences of NATO’s post-Cold War enlargement into Central and Eastern Europe. It offers a nuanced discussion of the merits and drawbacks of NATO enlargement across the different actors involved and compares the results of the policy against potential alternatives that were not chosen. Particular attention is given to NATO enlargement’s influence on the course of U.S. foreign policy, democracy and security in Central and Eastern Europe, NATO’s own development as a political and military institution, and relations with China and Russia (including the 2022 Russia-Ukraine War). Written for an engaged audience, the book is designed to appeal to students, researchers, and policymakers alike while offering both policy insights and avenues for future scholarship.

This work evaluates the pros and cons of NATO enlargement. It explains why NATO offered membership to three of its Cold War adversaries and makes recommendations about which countries, if any, should be offered membership in the future.

How did Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic become the newest members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization? Based on interviews conducted with more than 75 individuals—from Cabinet officials to desk officers—James M. Goldgeier tells the inside story of this controversial Clinton administration initiative. Analyzing the earliest internal deliberations, as well as administration discussions with allies, the Russians, and the United States Senate, Goldgeier demonstrates how a handful of committed policymakers outmaneuvered overwhelming bureaucratic opposition. He shows the role of domestic politics in shaping the evolution of this policy and dissects the national campaign waged by the administration's specially created NATO enlargement ratification office and its outside supporters. Weaving together insights about bureaucratic politics, policy entrepreneurship, and domestic politics, this book provides fresh insights into the American foreign policymaking process.

The decision to expand NATO eastward is a fateful venture that has received surprisingly little public attention. Advocates of enlargement insist that the step will foster cooperation, consolidate democracy, and promote stability throughout Europe. But the contributors to this volume conclude that an expanded NATO is a dubious, potentially disastrous idea. Instead of healing the wounds of the Cold War, it threatens to create a new division of Europe and undermine friendly relations with Russia. Even worse, it will establish expensive, dangerous, and probably unsustainable security obligations for the United States.

Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Russia, grade: 1,0, University College Cork (Department of Government), course: Global Governance, language: English, abstract: In the wake of the Georgian conflict in August 2008 a heated debate about the necessity of further NATO enlargement has emerged. The prospects for Georgia and Ukraine of their candidacy being moved to the next stage is fading. In this essay I will outline the developments to date, present the arguments against and in favour of enlargement and argue that ultimately, despite its high-blown rhetoric, NATO is unlikely to grant Georgia and Ukraine membership in the near future.

Russia, once seen as America's greatest adversary, is now viewed by the United States as a potential partner. This book traces the evolution of American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union, and later Russia, during the tumultuous and uncertain period following the end of the cold war. It examines how American policymakers—particularly in the executive branch—coped with the opportunities and challenges presented by the new Russia. Drawing on extensive interviews with senior U.S. and Russian officials, the authors explain George H. W. Bush's response to the dramatic coup of August 1991 and the Soviet breakup several months later, examine Bill Clinton's efforts to assist Russia's transformation and integration, and analyze George W. Bush's policy toward Russia as September 11 and the war in Iraq transformed international politics. Throughout, the book focuses on the benefits and perils of America's efforts to promote democracy and markets in Russia as well as reorient Russia from security threat to security ally. Understanding how three U.S. administrations dealt with these critical policy questions is vital in assessing not only America's Russia policy, but also efforts that might help to transform and integrate other former adversaries in the future.

In this collection the leading authorities address the complexity of present day NATO, its inherent contradictions, and its current direction. The authors reflect on the significance of these issues for the alliance's future prospects, for Russia, and for European security generally. The Future of NATO looks at the conceptual and theoretical approaches that underlie the question of enlarging NATO's membership and the consequences of enlargement on international relations. It examines the policies of some of NATO's leading member states - including Canada, which has recently begun a two-year term on the security council - and deals with the issue of enlargement from the point of view of the East European candidates, focusing on Russia and its opposition to the current process. Contributors include Andràs Balogh (Loràn Eötvös University), Martin Bourgeois, Charles-Philippe David (UQAM), André P. Donneur (UQAM), David G. Haglund (Queen's), Philippe Hébert (Montréal), Stanislav J. Kirschbaum (Glendon College), Richard L. Kugler (RAND, National Defence University), David Law (Queen's), Paul Létourneau (Montréal), Jacques Lévesque (UQAM), Gale Mattox (U.S. Naval Academy), Marie-Claude Plantin (Lumière Lyon 2), Sergei Plekhanov (York), Jane M.O. Sharp (Kings College, London).

The central aims of the book is to present, in the form of a collection of papers, a variety of views on NATO from member states “formerly known as new”, and to assess in this context the prospects for NATO enlargement. Therefore, the book consists of two parts. The main objective of the first part is to present how NATO is now perceived in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Papers collected here offer an opportunity to reflect on the impact of the enlargements starting from 1999 on NATO functioning and evolution, roles, tasks and capabilities. The issue of how accession has transformed accessioning states will also be discussed. Last but not least, the perspective of “new” members on NATO’s future will be presented. The authors of the articles in this part mainly come from those countries that joined the Alliance after the end of the Cold War. The second part is devoted strictly to the topic of enlargement. In this part we asked experts from NATO members (both “old” and “new”), potential candidates and other NATO partners (including Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Finland etc.) how they view the future of NATO cooperation with external partners in Europe and the prospects for enlargement of the Alliance.