The Evolution of the NATO-Russia Relations

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-31
Author(s):  
V. I. Batyuk

Over the past 30 years, NATO-Russia relations have come a long way. The present paper provides a retrospective analysis of the NATO-Russia relations that may shed new light on their current state and prospects for development. The author shows that after the collapse of the bipolar world, and the Russian Federation’s emergence on the international scene as a sovereign state, Moscow did not exclude the possibility of establishing partnership and even allied relations with the North Atlantic Alliance. In fact, during the 1990s2000s, Russia and the Alliance cooperated successfully in such areas as the fight against piracy and international terrorism, rescue at sea, etc. However, hopes for a full-fledged partnership between Moscow and Brussels did not materialize as a result of the Alliance’s advance to the East, to the Russian border. NATO’s eastward enlargement — combined with the firm position of the official Washington and Brussels on the unacceptability of Russia’s membership in the Alliance — meant a complete exclusion of Russia from the decision-making process on the European security. At the same time, for a variety of reasons, in the post-bipolar world the military-political dependence of the Western European subregion on Washington did not decrease, as many hoped, but, on the contrary, has increased, thus excluding for Moscow the very possibility to play on the contradictions between the United States and its European allies. Accession to the Alliance of the Eastern and Southern European ‘recruits’ (many of which shared strong anti-Russian sentiments) further limited the Russia’s possibilities for such maneuvering. The Alliance thus became an instrument of the US global domination — a domination which Moscow rejects categorically. The author concludes that in these circumstances, it will not be easy to overcome the military-political contradictions between Russia and NATO.

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 424-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florin Fainisi ◽  
Victor Al. Fainisi

Abstract The technology of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has constantly developed in the last decade, becoming a key feature of the military programs and operations in Europe and the US, and the industry market has considerably grown. The vast majority of this growth is at the US level, whose military budget is bigger than of any other state in the world. On the other hand, with respect to the civil market, the sale of these kinds of aircrafts is in its initial stages, even though there are lots of fields in which it can be applied. In general, the states have begun to take legislative measures so that the unmanned flight of such an aircraft in areas open to civil aircrafts is controlled, so that any danger to the civil aircrafts should be avoided. The countries of the European Union that have not legislated this field are subject to Regulation 216/2008/EC regarding common norms in the civil aviation field and the Chicago Convention. Furthermore, all EU states are NATO members and thus apply in principle the norms established by the North-Atlantic Organization.


1963 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 709-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Bowie

The debate over strategy, forces, and nuclear control, which now divides the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is framed largely in military terms: what is the best way to protect the NATO area and its members from aggression? The military aspects are complex in themselves, but the import of these issues extends far beyond defense. Their handling will greatly affect prospects for a partnership between the United States and a strong, united Europe


1958 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Wolfers

Pressures to extend the activities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into fields other than the military, or actually to shift the emphasis to political, economic, and cultural objectives, have been so strong in recent years that one wonders whether there has not been a growing tendency, particularly in Europe, to lose sight of the purpose for which NATO was established and which makes it vital to the United States. Essentially, NATO is a multilateral military alliance for the protection of western and southern Europe against Soviet conquest, a means of denying these areas and their resources to the Soviets. If the members of the alliance, on one side or the other of the Atlantic, were ever to reach the conclusion that the threat of military attack from the east had vanished or that it could not be countered effectively by common military effort, NATO would have lost its original raison d'être, though it might be continued for the sake of what today are secondary non-military functions, such as political conciliation and economic collaboration. It should be added that the primacy of the military purpose of NATO, as it exists today, does not preclude the desirability or even the necessity of extending its scope beyond purely military matters. As Ruth C. Lawson has pointed out, there is little hope for reliable military collaboration among countries ohat do not succeed in attaining a reasonable degree of harmony between their political aims and policies. Cyprus, Suez, and Algeria are symptomatic of the problems NATO faces in the political field.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 1989-2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Y. Kim ◽  
R. Talbot ◽  
H. Mao ◽  
D. Blake ◽  
S. Vay ◽  
...  

Abstract. A case of continental outflow from the United States (US) was examined using airborne measurements from NASA DC-8 flight 13 during the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment – North America (INTEX-NA). Mixing ratios of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) at 8–11 km altitude over the North Atlantic were elevated to 1843 ppbv and 134 ppbv respectively, while those of carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbonyl sulfide (COS) were reduced to 372.4 ppmv and 411 pptv respectively. In this region, urban and industrial influences were evidenced by elevated mixing ratios and good linear relationships between urban and industrial tracers compared to North Atlantic background air. Moreover, low mixing ratios and a good correlation between COS and CO2 showed a fingerprint of terrestrial uptake and minimal dilution during rapid transport over a 1–2 day time period. Analysis of synoptic conditions, backward trajectories, and photochemical aging estimates based on C3H8/C2H6 strongly suggested that elevated anthropogenic tracers in the upper troposphere of the flight region were the result of transport via convection and warm conveyor belt (WCB) uplifting of boundary layer air over the southeastern US. This mechanism is supported by the similar slope values of linear correlations between long-lived (months) anthropogenic tracers (e.g., C2Cl4 and CHCl3) from the flight region and the planetary boundary layer in the southeastern US. In addition, the aircraft measurements suggest that outflow from the US augmented the entire tropospheric column at mid-latitudes over the North Atlantic. Overall, the flight 13 data demonstrate a pervasive impact of US anthropogenic emissions on the troposphere over the North Atlantic.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (71) ◽  
pp. 11-41
Author(s):  
Lidija Čehulić Vukadinović ◽  
Monika Begović

Abstract Numerous representatives of theories of international relations, security theories or alliance theories have examined the new role of the North Atlantic Alliance or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the post-bipolar world. Parallel with the theoretical examination of goals and tasks, NATO has transformed itself in practice, following the realities of the contemporary global era. In trying to achieve and keep the primacy of the strongest military- political organization, the Alliance has - especially in the Strategic Concept adopted in Lisbon in 2010-set the normative and institutional foundations of its global engagement, fulfilling the military (hard) and a wide array of non-military (soft) security challenges. This strategy has given rise to "Euro-Atlanticism", as a subsystem of international relations based on strong American-European relations, to fit with the process of regionalization of global politics. However, the 2013-2014 crisis in Ukraine has turned the focus of interest and activities of NATO once again primarily to Europe and it has stressed the importance and necessity of strengthening Euro-Atlantic security and defence ties. The most powerful member of the Alliance, the United States, is again strongly engaged in Europe and Russia, as a kind of successor to the Soviet Union, is once more detected as a major threat to European security. There have been many aspects of theories of international relations that have tried to explain the dynamic of the post-Cold War international community. However, the approach based on neo-realistic assumptions of the role of a security community, collective defence and the use of military force has proved to be dominant. NATO will continue to work on its political dimension as an alliance of the democratic world and the September 2014 Wales Summit will certainly mark the return of NATO to its roots, strengthening its security and military dimensions in the collective defence of Europe from Russia.


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-128

At the July 1997 NATO summit in Madrid, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization invited Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic to begin accession talks to join the Alliance. On February 11, 1998 the President transmitted the accession protocols to the United States Senate seeking its advice and consent on this central pillar of the Administration's strategy for ensuring European stability into the 21st century.


1953 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-441

The second annual report of the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR, Ridgway), to the Standing Group of the Military Committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the operations of Supreme Head-quarters, Allied Powers, Europe (SHAPE) during the period since May 1952, was released on May 30, 1953. In reviewing the changes which had been made in the period under consideration – the first year in which General Ridgway held the position of SACEUR – the report noted that “much has been done to increase our defense forces and to make them more effective” but “measured against the Soviet capacity, our progress is insufficient to give us acceptable prospect of success if attacked”. SACEUR observed that by the end of 1952, the numerical goals for NATO forces set at the Lisbon meeting of the Council had in large part been met, “although there was a substantial shortfall in planned combat effectiveness”. The outstanding deficiency of a year ago in tactical air forces had been improved both from deliveries under the United States military assistance program and from increased combat capability; nevertheless, the Supreme Commander still regarded air power as “the weakest link in our defense”. While the growth of land forces had been “encouraging” if not “satisfactory”, the same was not true of the arrangements for the supply and support of those forces. General Ridgway emphasized the complexity of the present system in which each nation was responsible for the support of its own troops; however, he felt that the situation could largely be remedied with the approval and implementation of plans submitted by SHAPE to the Standing Group in October 1952. Progress had been good, the report noted, in the infrastructure program.


1950 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-520

Defense CommiteeA week of conferences on strategic plans for meeting the threat of communist aggression preceded the meeting of the Defense Committee on the North Atlantic Treaty organization on April 1at the Hague. The North Atlantic Military Production and Supply Board met for one day on March 24 at the Hague under the chairmanship of Hubert K. Howard, head of the United States delegation. The primary object of this meeting was to consider certain proposals for an integrated and coordinated production of military equipment and supplies by members of the pact. An official statement made at the end of the meeting announced that “encouraging” progress had been made in laying the groundwork for effective operation of production and supply activity. Thestanding group of the Military Committee, composed of military representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom and France, on March 25 resolved final, minor differences in an all inclusive program evolved from plans of the five regional military groups in the pact.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 6871-6907 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nolan ◽  
K. DesLauriers

Abstract. While creation of the United States Geological Survey's topographic maps of the eastern Alaska Arctic were an outstanding accomplishment for their time, they nonetheless contained significant errors when made in the late 1950s. One notable discrepancy relates to the tallest peak in the US Arctic: USGS maps of different scale alternate between Mt Chamberlin and Mt Isto. Given that many of the peaks here are close in height and covered with glaciers, recent climate change may also have changed their height and their order. We resolved these questions using fodar, a new airborne photogrammetric technique that utilizes Structure-from-Motion (SfM) software and requires no ground control, and validated it using GPS measurements on the peaks and using airborne lidar. Here we show that Mt Chamberlin is currently the 3rd tallest peak and that the order and elevations of the five tallest mountains in the US Arctic are Mt Isto (2735.6 m), Mt. Hubley (2717.6 m), Mt. Chamberlin (2712.3 m), Mt. Michelson (2698.1 m), and an unnamed peak (2694.9 m); these orthometric heights relative to the NAVD88 vertical datum, established with use of GEOID12B. We find that it is indeed plausible that this ranking has changed over time and may continue to change as summit glaciers continue to shrink, though Mt Isto will remain the highest under current climate trends. Mt Isto is also over 100 m higher than the highest peak in the Canadian Arctic, making it the highest peak in the North American Arctic. Fodar elevations compared to within a few centimeters of our ground-based GPS measurements of the peaks made a few days later and our complete validation assessment indicates a measurement uncertainty of better than ±20 cm (95 % RMSE). By analyzing time-series of fodar maps, we were able to detect topographic change on the centimeter-level on these steep slopes, indicating that fodar can be used to measure mountain snow packs for water resource availability or avalanche danger, to measure glacier volume change and slope subsidence, and many other applications of benefit to society. Compared to lidar, the current state-of-the-art in airborne topographic mapping, we found this SfM technique as accurate, more scientifically useful, and significantly less expensive, suggesting that fodar is a disruptive innovation that will enjoy widespread usage in the future.


1952 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-147

The eighth meeting of the North Atlantic Council met in Rome from November 24 through November 28, 1951, under the chairmanship of Lester B. Pearson (Canada) and with representatives of Gṙeece and Turkey participating as observers. Press reports indicated that the agenda included: 1) discussion of an interim report on the non-military objectives of the Atlantic alliance prepared by a five-power committee consisting of representatives of Canada, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium; 2) the report of the Military Committee calling for increased rearmament pledges for 1954 and increased commitment of military contingents in 1952; 3) a report by Dean G. Acheson (United States) on discussions held between Konrad Adenauer (Germany) and the foreign ministers of the United States, United Kingdom and France; 4) a recommendation that the Council of Deputies receive more power; and 5) an interim report by the Temporary Council Committee appointed at Ottawa to survey the economic resources of the members of the alliance.


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