Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO)

We explain what the North Atlantic Treaty and Member Countries is. In addition, what are its characteristics and objectives.

What is NATO?

The organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), also known as the Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or North Atlantic Alliance, is An intergovernmental military -type alliance. It is based on the terms of the North Atlantic or Treaty Treaty of Washington, signed in 1949.

It consists of A collective defense commitment. All member countries undertake to act in the case that some suffer from a military aggression by a foreign nation. Although his interventions are made in the name of world peace, his international role has been widely questioned.

This organization arose in the context of the Cold war and contributed to the integration of the “western bloc”, led by the United States and the European powers. Its objective was the mutual defense of the signatory countries to a military offensive of the states of the “Eastern Block”, led by the USSR.

When the cold war ended with the disintegration of the USSR, NATO reoriented its objectives and transformed its structure. In 1991 he published his new strategic concept in which he announced its crisis management objectives and inclusion of new tasks in the new European scenario: the transition from the countries of Eastern Europe From communist regimes to liberal and capitalist democracies.

This led NATO to use the military forces of member countries in the Balkans for the first time, to intervene the ancient Yugoslavia and then manage peace operations.

In 2001, September 11 attacks to the twin towers in the United States changed the international panorama. NATO supported the initiatives of the United States, and a new goal to fight terrorism was adopted. Consequently, The response force was created (a military force of the organization) and eliminated the geographical limits for NATO’s performance (before it was limited to the Euro -Romantic space).

At present, NATO It has 29 member countries21 collaborating countries within the Association for Peace Program and another fifteen in international dialogue programs.

See also: European Union

NATO conformation

NATO It was created in 1949during the postwar period of World War II. Originally, the countries that created the organization had three objectives:

• Frann the expansionism of the Soviet Union.
• Avoid the growth of militaristic nationalisms in Europe (which can trigger another World War) through a strong presence of the United States in the continent.
• Promote the political integration of European countries.

The UN had been created in 1945 and still did not have the political or institutional force to serve these purposes. In addition, the USSR was a member country and had the right of veto.

That is why we sought to create an organism that would expand military reciprocity treaties of the Western European Union. NATO was officially created with the signing of the Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949. The signatory countries were the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Portugal.

Since its foundation various Western nations began to joinlooking for the protection of Western powers. In 1952 Türkiye and Greece agreed to the pact. In 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany (“West Germany”) joined the organization and, in this way, reintegrated into the international order.

The USSR proposed to adhere to NATO with the aim of maintaining peace in Europe, but was rejected by member countries. Consequently, the USSR led the political-military integration of communist states through the creation of the Warsaw Pact.

Spain, who had to wait for Franco’s death to participate in the Western defense in equal foot, joined NATO in 1982. In 1999, three former members of the Warsaw Pact, Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary adhered to the Alliance. They were followed in 2004 Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia; and, in 2009 Albania and Croatia. Finally, in 2017 Montenegro was integrated and in 2020 Macedonia del Norte.

See also: Origins of the Cold War

NATO objectives

The primary objective of this organization is guarantee the freedom and the security of their States Membersthrough a joint action of political, diplomatic and military means. This is expressed in the following objectives:

• Defend the stability of the Euro -Atlantic zone.
• Serve as a consultation forum in international security matters.
• Guarantee the military protection of the members against any threat.
• Contribute to conflict management and avoid international crises.
• Promote a culture of dialogue and cooperation between the countries of the Euro -Atlantic zone.

NATO functions

Since it is a cooperation agreement, NATO has few own military forces and depends on the work of each of the countries that compose it. However, NATO complies with An important role in the direction and correlation of the war forces of member countries.

Among its functions are to indicate common enemies or, even, activate the reciprocity clause to ask its allies a defensive retaliation against an external attacker. The latter has only happened once in history, on the initiative of the United States in the Afghanistan War of 2001.

NATO Structure

NATO has two structures, according to its purposes:

Political structure. It consists of the North Atlantic Council, which meets once a week and represents the NATO authority. However, the most important decisions are taken in a meeting with the heads of government, defense ministers or foreign ministers of the member countries.

The Headquarters of this Council is carried by a secretary elected by the NATO Parliament, that is, its parliamentary assembly responsible for the leadership of the agency and the coordination of its five committees:

• Committee on the civil security dimension
• Security and Defense Committee
• Economy and Security Commission
• Political Commission
• Science and Technology Committee

Military structure Military, NATO is directed by the Military Committee, under the authority of the North Atlantic Council. He is chaired by the NATO -ranking military officer, who acts as an advisor to the Secretary General.

His decisions in the field are transmitted to two strategic NATO commanders: the Supreme Commander Allied in Europe (SACEUR) and the Supreme Commander Allied of Transformation (SACT).

NATO official headquarters

The permanent headquarters of NATO It is found in Brussels, Belgiumsince 1966. formerly his headquarters was in London, England, then in New York, United States, and also in Paris, France.

The buildings that make up the headquarters house the permanent representatives and the national delegations, the teams of the General Secretariat and the International Secretariat, the national military representatives, to the presidency of the General Committee and the General General Staff.

How is NATO financed? NATO member countries provide the necessary resources for the daily functioning of the organization, the maintenance costs of the institution and all activities and programs. The common financing structure is decentralized. Member countries assign military personnel and material for the operations carried out by the organization.

NATO military operations

NATO was born at the beginning of the Cold War and during its first decades of existence did not carry out direct military operations. His first military operations as such took place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and were:

• Military intervention in Bosnia. In retaliation of the actions carried out against the civilian population Bosnia by Serbian and Croatian forces in the former Yugoslavia, the NATO forced the Slobodan Milosevic regime to sign the Daytona agreements.
• Military intervention in former Yugoslavia. NATO bombed in 1999 the Federative Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. These bombings constitute unpunished war crimes that cost the lives of thousands of Yugoslav civilians.
• Military intervention in Afghanistan. Following the protocols of the Alliance, NATO participated in the war against the terrorist factions known as Al-Qaeda, considered responsible for the September 11 attacks in the US.
• Military intervention in Libya. In 2011, the Muamar El Gaddafi regime in Libya faced rebel forces that sought to overthrow it and undertake a transition to a republic. These forces had French support and, especially, from NATO.

The Warsaw Pact

Given the creation of NATO in 1949 and the refusal of member countries to allow the entry of the USSR, this last country decided to create its own socialist league. The objective was to fulfill the same NATO functions.

The countries that integrated it composed the socialist bloc or east block: USSR, the Popular Republic of Albania, the Democratic Republic of Germany, the People’s Republic of Bulgaria, the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia, the Popular Republic of Hungary, the Popular Republic of Poland and the Socialist Republic of Romania.

This alliance, known as the Warsaw Pact, The treaty of friendship, collaboration and mutual assistance was calledand was signed on May 14, 1955 under the leadership of the Soviet Union and its international policy. This pact was dissolved on July 1, 1991, with the disintegration of the USSR and the end of the Cold War.

NATO Crisis

The Atlantic Alliance has not been free of internal tensions. Among the most important crises that the organization went through are:

• Suez Canal Crisis (1956). The president of Egypt nationalized the Suez channel with the support of the USSR. France, Great Britain and Israel attacked Egypt without consulting NATO. The plans failed and the United States, for fear that URSS finally benefited from the conflict, managed to condemn the invasion and force the withdrawal of invading troops.
• Departure from France (1966). Gaulle General decided the departure of France from NATO because he considered that France did not have the power he intended within the decisions of the Alliance. He argued that the United States and Britain monopolized the weight of decisions. France returned to NATO only in 2009.
• Bombing to Libya (1986). The United States ordered an attack on Libya without consulting NATO, as retaliation for an attack on a German disco (where two American soldiers had died) in which the Libyan Secret Services had been considered involved. All NATO European states, less Britain, opposed the attack.
• Invasion of Iraq (2003). After the attacks of September 11, the United States decided a lonely response. In 2002, the purposes of the organization were reoriented and the fight against terrorism worldwide was incorporated. However, most NATO European countries opposed Iraq’s American invasion.

Countries that make up NATO

The countries that make up NATO are:

1. Belgium
2. Canada
3. Denmark
4. France
5. Iceland
6. Italy
7. Luxembourg
8. Netherlands
9. Norway
10. Portugal
11. United Kingdom
12. USA
13. Greece
14. Türkiye
15. Germany
16. Spain
17. Czech Republic
18. Hungary
19. Poland
20. Estonia
21. Latvia
22. Lithuania
23. Romania
24. Slovakia
25. Slovenia
26. Albania
27. Croatia
28. Montenegro
29. Macedonia del Norte

North Atlantic Washington Treaty Text

The States parties in this treaty:

“Reaffirming their faith in the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and their desire to live in peace with all peoples and all governments;

Determined to safeguard freedom, the common inheritance and civilization of their peoples, based on the principles of democracy, individual freedoms and empire of the law;

Eager to favor well -being and stability in the North Atlantic region;

Resolved to join their efforts for collective defense and the conservation of peace and security

They have agreed in the following North Atlantic Treaty:

Art. 1. The parties are committed, as established in the Charter of the United Nations, to solve by peaceful means any international controversy in which they could be involved, so that international peace and security, as well as justice, do not put themselves in danger, and to refrain in their international relations to resort to the threat or use of force in any way that is incompatible with the purposes of the United Nations.

Art. 2. The parties will contribute to the development of peaceful and friendly international relations reinforcing their free institutions, ensuring a better understanding of the principles on which these institutions are based and favoring their own co -decisions to ensure stability and well -being. They will try to eliminate any conflict in their international economic policies and stimulate economic collaboration between some of the parties or among them.

Art. 3. In order to achieve more effectively the realization of the purposes of this treaty, the parties, acting individually and jointly and effectively through their own effort and mutual help, will maintain and increase their individual and collective capacity of resistance to armed attack.

Art. 4. The parties will be consulted when, in the opinion of any of them, territorial integrity, political independence or the security of any of the parties is threatened.

Art. 5. The parties agree that an armed attack against one or against several of them, which occurred in Europe or in North America, will be considered as an attack directed against all of them and consequent The other parts, the measures that are necessary, even the use of the Armed Forces to restore and maintain security in the North Atlantic region. Any armed attack of this nature and any measure adopted accordingly will be immediately informed of the Security Council. These measures will cease when the Security Council has taken the necessary measures to restore and maintain international peace and security.

Art 6. For art. 5 Armed attack is considered against one or more of the parties, an armed attack against the territory of any of the parties in Europe or in North America, against the French departments of Algeria, against the force of occupation of any of the parties in Europe, against the islands under jurisdiction of any of the parties in the north Atlantic region north of the tropics of cancer or against ships or aircraft of any of the parties in the aforementioned region.

Art. 7. This treaty does not affect or interpret that it affects in any way, the rights and obligations derived from the letter for the parties that are members of the United Nations, or the primary responsibility of the Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security.

Art. 8. Each of the parties declares that none of the international commitments currently in force between it and any other part or any third state is in contradiction with the provisions of this treaty and assumes the obligation not to acquire any international commitment in contradiction with the treaty.

Art. 9. The parties establish a Council for this provision, in which each of them will be represented, to learn about the issues related to the application of the treaty. The Council will be organized so that it can meet quickly at any time. The Council will establish how many subsidiary bodies may be necessary, and especially will immediately establish a defense committee that will recommend the appropriate measures for the application of third and fifth articles.

Art. 10. The parties can, by unanimous agreement, invite to adhere to the treaty to any other European State that is in a position to favor the development of the principles of this treaty and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic region. Any state thus guest can become part of the treaty by depositing its adhesion instrument before the United States government. This will inform each of the parts of the deposit of each adhesion instrument.

Art. 11. This treaty will be ratified and its provisions applied by the parties in accordance with their respective constitutional precepts. The ratification instruments will be deposited, as soon as possible, before the government of the United States of America, who will inform the governments of the other parts of the deposit of each ratification instrument. The treaty will enter into force between the states that have ratified it, as soon as the ratifications of the majority of signatories have been deposited, including those of Belgium, Canada, the United States, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. And will enter into force for the other signatories on the day of the deposit of their ratifications.

Art. 12. Past ten years of validity of the treaty, or at any further date, the parties will be consulted, at the request of any of them, in order to review the treaty, taking into account the factors that affect at that time the peace and security in the North Atlantic region, including the development of the agreements, both universal and regional, concluded according to the Charter of the United Nations for the maintenance of the United Nations.

Art. 13. Last twenty years of the treaty, any part may, as far as it is concerned, end the treaty, a year after having notified its complaint to the government of the United States of America, which will inform the goInos of the other parts of the deposit of each notification of complaint.

Art. 14. This treaty, whose texts in French and English also make faith, will be deposited in the archives of the United States of America. This government will send duly certified copies to the governments of the other signatory states.“

Washington, April 4, 1949

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References

• Acosta Ortega, S. (2009). Sixty years of NATO: a success of success and an uncertain future. Information Bulletin, (310), 69-86.
• Caramés Vázquez, M. (2000). NATO: nature, organization and financing. Information Bulletin, (266), 1.
• Tato, Mi, Bubello, JP, Castello, AM and Campos, E. (2011). History of the second half of the twentieth century. Estrada