NATO from shadow to substance--the formative years--insights for the 21st century

Abstract

Critics of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have denigrated its purpose and scoffed at its principles of consensus and sharing the burdens of defense. To many, it has been flawed from the outset as concerns its American business principles, false promise of democracy, and claim to be a basis for durable peace in Europe. Yet NATO may be the most successful security institution in modern history, even as it wages war for the second time in a decade. This study assesses underlying causes for this success by examining NATO's foundation, against the background of war and peace in 20th century Europe. Embracing the discipline of history as the ideal method of inquiry to discover the essence of this alliance as well as the fundamental issues of democracy and collective defense in the 21st century this study contains a thorough examination of NATO's origins and general principles of same for the present. Covering NATO from its inception, well before the end of the 1939-1945 war, until the 1949 signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in April 1949, this work contains an inventory of historical knowledge to provide a comprehensive history of NATO's formation and a full appreciation of the conditions within which related decisions were made.