ABSTRACT

This handbook provides a comprehensive survey of the development and importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), its role in international relations and its influence on history.

The volume examines the Alliance’s evolution in breadth, depth and context by analysing and explaining why and how NATO has endured and remained relevant since its creation. To present an inclusive study of the Alliance’s activities and milestone events and to offer a glimpse of future challenges, the book’s 29 chapters fall into six thematic sections that act as frameworks and allow the exploration of specific topics that pertain to the evolution of NATO:

  • Part I: History of NATO, 1949–2024
  • Part II: Key Enduring Themes, 1949–2024
  • Part III: Military Operations, 1995–2024
  • Part IV: National Perspectives, 1949–2024
  • Part V: Regional Perspectives, 1949–2024
  • Part VI: Future Prospects, 2024–

This handbook will be of much interest to students and researchers of NATO, strategic studies, defence studies and International Relations, as well as for staff and fellows at security- and defence-oriented think tanks and government officials, military personnel and other practitioners in the areas of foreign affairs and defence.

chapter |12 pages

Introduction

The Alliance for Our Times

part I|64 pages

A History of NATO, 1949–2024

chapter 1|13 pages

The Origins of NATO

chapter 2|13 pages

NATO, 1949–1967

chapter 3|12 pages

NATO, 1968–1989

chapter 4|12 pages

NATO, 1990–2013

chapter 5|12 pages

NATO, 2014–2024

part II|68 pages

Key Enduring Themes, 1949–2024

part III|64 pages

Military Operations, 1995–2024

chapter 12|12 pages

NATO and Kosovo

Operation Allied Force, 1999

chapter 15|12 pages

NATO and Libya

Operation Unified Protector, 2011

part IV|63 pages

National Perspectives, 1949–2024

chapter 16|12 pages

NATO and the United States

chapter 17|13 pages

NATO and the United Kingdom

chapter 18|12 pages

NATO and France

chapter 19|11 pages

NATO and Germany

chapter 20|13 pages

NATO and Türkiye

part V|67 pages

Regional Perspectives, 1949–2024

chapter 22|13 pages

NATO and the Eastern Flank

chapter 23|12 pages

NATO and the Southern Flank

chapter 25|14 pages

NATO and Partnerships

part VI|55 pages

Future Prospects, 2024–

chapter 27|12 pages

NATO's Deterrence and Defence

Protecting the Future

chapter 28|13 pages

Emerging Security Challenges