Selected Online Reading on EU-NATO Cooperation

This book examines the development of cooperation between the EU and NATO, two key non-state actors in the European security architecture. The work examines the relationship between the EU and NATO by focusing on the perspective of member states. Highlighting the relevance of member states' role in shaping EU-NATO relations, it conceptualises interorganisational cooperation and develops a typology of member states based on four types: advocates, blockers, balancers and neutrals. To apply this typology and analyse member states' specific roles, the analysis considers their foreign and security policy orientations, bilateral relationships with other member states, and contributions to both military operations, and division of labour between the two organisations. The book also examines states' use of political strategies -- such as forum-shopping, hostage-taking and brokering -- that influence the design, evolution and practicalities of cooperation between the EU and NATO. This book will be of much interest to students of European Security and Defence Policy, international organisations, and security studies in general.

This book analyses how and to what extent ex-communist states have adjusted their defence strategies since joining the EU and NATO, and how differences and similarities between their strategies can be explained. Between 1999 and 2013, four phases of enlargement took place when the European Union (EU) and NATO allowed 11 new former communist states to enter both organisations. These states share some common attributes and experiences related to strategic culture and common experiences during the Cold War era that can potentially explain similarities in behaviour and preferences among them. However, the strategic adjustments among these states are far from uniform. In an effort to explain these differences, the book introduces three intervening variables: (1) differences in relative power and position in the international system, (2) national geographical characteristics; and (3) historical experiences related to formative periods of state-building processes as well as wars and armed conflicts. Empirically, the book strives to present and analyse the defence strategies of each of the new allies by conducting a structured focused comparison of official strategic documents from the twenty-first century for each of the 11 cases. Theoretically and methodologically, it introduces an analytical framework enabling us to explain both similarities and differences in the formulation of the strategies of the 11 states, and to shed light on their external and internal efforts to promote their strategic interest by operationalising the dependent variable - defence strategy. The analytical framework combines elements of structural realism with classical realism, and constructivist research on unit-level characteristics related to relative power and perceptions of strategic exposure. This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, European Union policy, NATO and International Relations in general.

Following the passage of the fifteenth and twentieth anniversaries of the entry of many former communist states into both NATO and the EU in 2019, this book takes a comprehensive look at the changed security conditions of these new member states. How has NATO and EU membership improved their overall defense protection, and what elements are still missing for them on an individual state basis? Utilizing alliance politics theory, convergence/divergence theory, and defense policy theory, Lubecki and Peterson provide an invaluable assessment of defense policies, from the stable East Central European states to the most jeopardized Baltic states in the north of Europe. With chapters on the Cold War defense conditions during the last two decades of Soviet domination, the post 1989-91 transformations in the direction of democracy, and the impact of the 2014 Ukraine-Russia-Crimea crisis, this book is essential reading for those seeking to understand the changed landscape of European politics in the twenty-first century.

This book explores the largely neglected issue of responses to the US Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI, or the 'Star Wars' missile defence programme) across NATO. The chapters here explore the reactions of different Western allies to the announcement of the SDI in 1983 and especially the 1985 invitation to participate. While existing studies have explored the origins of the American programme and the role it may have played in ending the Cold War, this volume breaks new ground by considering the impact of the SDI on transatlantic relations in the 1980s. Based on newly available archival sources, this volume re-evaluates the responses of eight NATO member-state governments, as well as the Soviet leadership, to the SDI. In addition to looking at 'top-down' governmental reactions, the volume also explores the 'bottom-up' response to the SDI of civil society and peace activists on both sides of the Atlantic. The volume examines how the American initiative - derisively named 'Star Wars' by its detractors - provoked a crisis in relations with its allies during the final decade of the Cold War and how those tensions within NATO were ultimately resolved. This book will be of much interest to students of Cold War history, strategic studies, foreign policy and international history.

This book analyses whether the EU's drift towards European strategic autonomy presents a challenge or a window of opportunity for its small member states to advance their security interests. The volume presents small states' perceptions of European strategic autonomy, highlighting their expectations and concerns. The chapters focus on the depth and breadth of European strategic autonomy, national security considerations, assessment of the impact on transatlantic relations, the expected outputs and its potential impact on the EU's institutional structure. It also shows how systemic circumstances and the interests of powerful states, either belonging to the EU (France, Germany, and Poland) or having a significant say in European security architecture (the US), establish opportunities and constraints for the small states to shape European strategic autonomy. In particular, the study focuses on the diverging interests of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary and the Netherlands. It demonstrates that, in most cases, European strategic autonomy is perceived not as an alternative to NATO but as a supplementary element that could facilitate the development of national military capabilities, indigenous defence industries and resilience to non-military threats. Ultimately, the book suggests that national approaches towards European strategic autonomy mainly stem from pragmatic national security and foreign policy considerations, while largely ignoring grand strategic ideas. This book will be of much interest to students of European politics, security studies, and International Relations.

The Nations of NATO explores national policies within the Atlantic Alliance. It examines the foreign policies of 16 allies, focusing on issues such as their strategic cultures, relationship with the United States, contributions to NATO operations, levels of defence spending, domestic challenges, and decision-making processes. The recent crisis in Ukraine has without doubt reinvigorated NATO as a military alliance, but over the last decade it has also beenaffected by a number of challenges, both endogenous and exogenous. Whether the Alliance is threatened from the outside (Russia, terrorism, China) or is being undermined from within (intra-Alliance politics,diverging threat perceptions) has become an increasingly debated issue. The degree to which the Alliance can adapt to evolving threats has also been at stake. At the heart of these debates are NATO allies' policies, preferences, threat perceptions, and level of commitment to the shared enterprise. By analysing the drivers, constraints, and specificities of relevant national policies, the volume offers an overview of NATO's contemporary functions and challenges, and constitutes an importantsource of data for future research and comparative analysis.

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 book states that burden-sharing is one of the most persisting sources for tension and disagreement within NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation). It also belongs to one of the most studied issues within NATO with distinguishable traditions and schools of thought. However, this pertinent question has been rarely discussed extensively by academics. The key idea of the book is to make burden-sharing more understandable as a historical, contemporary and future phenomenon. The authors take a comprehensive look at what is actually meant with burden-sharing and how it has evolved as a concept and a real-life phenomenon through the 70 years of NATO's existence.

This timely Research Handbook provides novel insights into the institutional complexities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Through a defined focus on the post-Cold War evolution of NATO, it provides various theoretical perspectives on the Alliance and assesses wider research efforts within NATO studies. Written by thirty renowned international scholars and practitioners, chapters provide multidisciplinary insights into NATO's legal and political developments. They examine existing research ventures within NATO scholarship, as well as potential future methodological advancements. The Research Handbook looks closely at NATO's political and military decision-making, its principles of governance and its key fields of action. It additionally offers a significant analysis of the organization's stability and cohesion. This comprehensive Research Handbook will be important for academics studying law, politics and international relations surveying the intricacies of regional organizations. It will be particularly beneficial for NATO practitioners and for researchers endeavouring to further the field of NATO studies.

This book is an excellent introduction to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Julian Lindley-French clearly outlines all of the institution's key facets to deliver an authoritative account. Detailing the origins, institutions, workings and activities of NATO, this volume also focuses on its future as the institutional basis for the security dimension of the transatlantic relationship, and an institution contributing to global security. It is clear that NATO faces fresh challenges in the twenty-first century and will be in the spotlight for years to come.

This book analyses the evolution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its policies from the Cold War until today. NATO's future cannot be fully understood without analysing its past: the origins of its structure and goals, and their transformation over time.  By exploring NATO's geopolitical and military role at crucial points throughout history, this edited volume considers the challenges and threats which have faced the alliance, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. It covers highly-debated and unresolved issues such as budgetary burden-sharing and the military transatlantic gap, the enlargement process, and the role of Asia in influencing NATO's policies. Combining a historical approach with international perspectives, this book is an interdisciplinary read that will appeal to scholars of diplomatic history and international relations. Chapters 1 and 2 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License vialink.springer.com.

Past NATO enlargement helped create a Europe whole, free, and at peace, but future enlargement, should it occur, faces a hostile and militarily revitalized Russia. This report examines the military requirements and resulting budget costs of extending NATO's Article 5 commitment to countries such as Ukraine, Georgia, or Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are actively seeking NATO membership, and Sweden and Finland, about which there has been analysis and speculation about membership. Costs to the United States range from $11 billion per year to defend Ukraine to half a billion dollars or less to defend Sweden. The project recommends that NATO incorporate force requirements and cost considerations into its future decisionmaking.