NATO CELEBRATES ITS FIFTIETH YEAR

In: Strategic survey: the annual assessment of geopolitics, S. 31-39

Abstract

THE NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT ADVANCED AT THE FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY MEETING OF NATO REPLACED THE ONE ISSUED IN 1991 AND REFLECTED THE NEW ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS THAT NATO HAD BECOME ENGAGED IN OVER THE DECADE. NATO'S RECENT ROLE IN BOSNIA AND KOSOVO CONFIRMED NATO'S SUPREMACY AS THE PRINCIPAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY ACTOR IN EUROPE. YET, THE OUTWARD PROJECTION OF NATO'S VITALITY MASKS SIGNIFICANT INTERNAL TENSIONS AND UNRESOLVED DILEMMAS. IN ADDITION, IT IS EVIDENT THAT THE FUTURE OF NATO IS CRITICALLY DEPENDENT ON EUROPE AND THE EU SUCCESSFULLY RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF ASSUMING THE MILITARY AND SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES THAT ARE CONSONANT WITH EUROPE'S ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL POWER AND PRESTIGE.