When NATO turned 60 in 2009, many commentators made jokes about NATO reaching its “retirement age.”
Ten years later, NATO is ready to celebrate its 70th anniversary on April 4, facing the most complex security challenges in a generation. These include a more assertive Russia, cyber and hybrid threats, terrorism, and instability across the Middle East and North Africa, In response, NATO has stepped up again, responding to many challenges at the same time.
At no time in its history has NATO had the luxury of resting — for forty years, NATO successfully deterred the Soviet Union from aggression against Western Europe. In the 1990s, NATO undertook its first out of area operations and crisis management function helping to end conflicts in the Western Balkans. It oversaw a successful enlargement from 16 to nearly 30 members of the Alliance in the span of 20 years.
NATO stays committed to its Open Door Policy and assists with reforms to those who expressed their aspiration to join the Alliance, including Ukraine.
After 9/11, NATO took a lead role in the international response in Afghanistan and continues in its fight against terrorism, for example by training Afghan and Iraqi security forces and contributing to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
NATO has expanded its network of partnerships around the world including with international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, and the African Union.
Over more than 25 years, the Alliance has developed a network of partnerships with non-member countries from the Euro-Atlantic area, the Mediterranean and the Gulf region, and other partners across the globe. NATO pursues dialogue and practical cooperation with over forty nations on a wide range of political and security-related issues. NATO’s partnerships are beneficial to all involved and contribute to improved security for the broader international community.
This author was recently asked to name a political figure that has most contributed to NATO’s history and place in the world. Every era has its hero: from General Eisenhower who became the first Supreme Commander Allied Forces Europe in 1950 to Secretary General Manfred Worner who oversaw the end of the Cold War and fall of Berlin Wall. At the occasion of the NATO’s 40thanniversary in 1989 he said: “NATO remains the backbone and the lighthouse of mankind’s future in freedom and peace.’’
The current Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg just received an extension of his mandate to lead the organization until Sept. 30, 2022. This will make him one of the longest-serving secretary generals with a total of eight years.
To this date, 13 secretary generals have led the organization since its creation, navigating it through difficult periods, adapting and modernizing it to the needs of its time whilst preserving its key values and principles. NATO is a collective defense organization build around political consultations and consensus with a goal of preserving peace and stability of its members. And for 70 years, NATO has accomplished just that — an unprecedented period of peace and security for the citizens of North America and Europe.
As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says: “Our world is changing and NATO is changing with it. But our commitment to one another endures. For 70 years, we have worked together to prevent conflict and preserve peace. And standing with unity and resolve, NATO will remain a pillar of stability for generations to come.”
Barbora Maronkova is the director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine. n
