NATO’S POST-COLD WAR EFFECTIVENESS:HOW NATO PRESERVED STABILITY AND SECURITY IN THE POST-COLD WAR WORLD THROUGH ITS CONDUCT OF MILITARY OPERATIONS

NATO;Military;Global Security Studies

Silberman, Zachary MarcStout, Mark ;

Johns Hopkins University

关键词: NATO;    Military;    Global Security Studies;   

Others  :  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/39245/SILBERMAN-THESIS-2014.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: JOHNS HOPKINS DSpace Repository

【 摘 要 】

The main argument of this thesis is that NATO can be an effective post-Cold War alliance in preserving 21st century security and stability through the conduct of its military operations.In order to show NATO’s effectiveness in successfully preserving post-Cold War security and stability, this thesis looks at three interrelated aspects of NATO following the fall of communism and how these aspects may have affected NATO’s ability to conduct military operations during its involvement in various conflicts.Rather than look at the wider concepts of NATO’s security role, I was interested in examining whether the alliance has been effective since the disappearance of the communist threat.The first chapter looks at the influence of U.S. strategic interests on NATO’s decision-making process.However, I argue that the interests of other states and the organization itself within the realm of U.S. strategic interests can motivate NATO decision-making to conduct military operations.The second chapter discusses a tiered system of NATO members—based on their political and military contributions—and whether those tiers impact the conduct of the alliance during specific military operations. I argue that certain tiers contribute more political and military assets to particular military operations than other tiers.Therefore, these contributions can have a decisive impact on the outcome of two conflicts featuring NATO actions.The third chapter investigates whether NATO’s adaptation to non-state threats in out-of-area conflicts was successful.I argue that NATO’s ability to adapt to changing security challenges outside of its regional borders allowed the alliance to conduct military operations against non-state threats, which resulted in stable and secure environments on the ground. The various case studies confirm the paper’s argument that NATO is effective as a post-Cold War alliance to preserve stability and security through its conduct of military operations. The results of the thesis can serve as a guide for policymakers in favor of NATO’s continued role in 21st century security going forward.Lessons learned from this thesis about how NATO has functioned since the end of the Cold War to deal with various security challenges can help guide policymakers as they deal with ongoing global security threats from Islamic terrorism, as well as traditional state aggressors.