ALFRED NOBEL UNIVERSITY

BA (HONS) PROGRAMME IN INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT: ESSAY

MODULE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

FIRST MARK
SECOND MARK
AGREED MARK

FIRST DR RUSLAN KLIUCHNIK

Things to improve

ALFRED NOBEL UNIVERSITY

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 BA (HONS) PROGRAMME IN INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT: ESSAY

MODULE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

SECOND
MARKER
Strengths of the
paper

Things to improve

1. Structure of NATO

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 According to the organization, NATO membership is open to "any European state that

is able to develop the principles of this Treaty and contribute to the security of the North

Atlantic region." (Nato.int)

To join the Alliance, a country must meet three criteria:

1. Geographically located in Europe. At the same time, the United States and Canada are

members of NATO, since they are at the forefront of the military-political alliance.

2. There must be democracy in the country.

3. A country should be able and willing to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic

region.

If the state meets all the criteria, it is invited to sign the NATO Membership Action Plan.

This program provides practical recommendations and targeted assistance to candidate

countries in preparation for joining the alliance, as well as NATO requirements and standards

in political, economic, military, legal aspects.

Following a country’s Membership Action Plan does not guarantee that the state will quickly

join the bloc. The policy of the North Atlantic Alliance states that since "there are no two

identical countries, each process differs in intensity and duration."

At present, Bosnia and Herzegovina is participating in the NATO Membership Action Plan,

while Georgia and Ukraine have repeatedly expressed their desire to join the program.

(Nato.int)

The next step is the signing and then ratification by all NATO member countries of the

protocol on the accession of a new country to the alliance. After that, the authorities will be

able to ratify the protocol of the host country, and only then will it officially become a

member of the alliance. (Nato.int)

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Joining NATO entails some financial obligations. At the Wales summit in 2014, bloc

members pledged to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2024.

According to NATO, in 2017, the total defense spending of all members of the alliance

amounted to about 957 billion dollars (839 billion euros). The United States contributed 686

billion dollars (601 billion euros), or 72% of the total.

Initially, 12 countries became NATO member states: the USA, Canada, Iceland, Great

Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Denmark, Italy and

Portugal. (Nato.int)

In present days, NATO includes 29 countries: Albania, the USA, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia,

Spain, Holland, Croatia, Iceland, Italy, Canada, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia,

Norway, Poland, Portugal, France, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Great Britain,

Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, Montenegro. (Nato.int)

NATO countries in order of accession

1949 - Belgium, Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Great Britain, USA, Canada, Portugal,

Italy, Norway, Denmark, Iceland

1952 - Greece, Turkey

1955 - Germany (at the time of accession, West Germany)

1982 - Spain

1999 - Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland

2004 - Estonia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia

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2009 - Albania, Croatia, France (rejoined the military command structures)

2017 – Montenegro.

In accordance with the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty, NATO aims to “strengthen stability and

increase prosperity in the North Atlantic region”. “The participating countries have joined

forces to create collective defense and maintain peace and security.”. (Nato.int)

The 2010 NATO Strategic Concept “Active Participation, Modern Defense” presents three of

NATO’s most important tasks - collective defense, crisis management, and cooperative

security. (Masters, 2019)

At the NATO summit in July 2016, Russia was recognized as the main security threat to

NATO, and its deterrence was officially proclaimed a new NATO mission. (Nato.int)

The main political decision-making body in NATO and the only committee created by the

constituent treaty is the North Atlantic Council (CAC). By virtue of Article 9, he is

empowered to establish “subsidiary bodies as may be necessary” in order to implement the

Treaty. Over the years, the CAC has created a network of committees designed to facilitate

the work of the Alliance and resolve all issues on the agenda. (Masters, 2019)

NATO’s core committees include the Nuclear Planning Group (NSG) and the Military

Committee. The Defense Planning Committee, which was also one of the most important

decision-making bodies in NATO, was disbanded during the reform of the committees in

June 2010, its functions were transferred to the Defense Policy and Planning Committee.

(Nato.int)

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1.2 Bodies of NATO

In addition to the CAC, the NSG and the Military Committee, there are a number of

committees directly reporting to the North Atlantic Council:

 Committee of Deputies

 Policy and Partnership Committee

 Nonproliferation committee

 Advice on Advice, Command and Management

 Operations Committee

 High Level Conventional Arms Control Task Force

 Verification Coordination Committee

 Conference of National Arms Directors

 Standardization committee

 Logistics Committee

 Resource Planning and Policy Council

 Air Defense Committee

 Air Traffic Management Committee

 Civil Emergency Planning Committee

 Committee on Public Diplomacy

 Council and Operations Committee

 Safety committee

 Citizens Intelligence Committee

 Archival Committee

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 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly acts as a platform for discussing security issues

with the legislators of NATO member countries.

1.3 Military establishment of NATO

As of 2007, there were more than 5 million military personnel in the armed forces of

NATO countries, of which approximately 3 million 200 thousand were in Europe.

(Nato.int)

In 2010, the armed forces of NATO countries were about 3.8 million troops.

NATO forces are divided into:

 the combined armed forces (hereinafter - the OVS) transferred to the disposal of the

bloc;

 armed forces remaining nationally subordinate.

As part of the air force, there are associations, formations and units of the ground forces

and the air forces of the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Belgium, the

Netherlands, Italy and Turkey, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, as well as the

air forces of Norway and Denmark. In wartime and during the exercise, the naval forces

of these countries, as well as the bulk of the troops of Norway, Denmark, Portugal and

Luxembourg, are transferred to the OVS. The armed forces of France and Greece,

having left the NATO military organization, periodically participate in the joint NATO

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 Allied exercises in Europe, coordinate the actions of their country's air defence with the

forces of the combined NATO air defence. (Nato.int)

In 2002, NATO launched a major reform of its military structure. In the process of this

reform, the total number of NATO headquarters was reduced from 20 to 11.

1.3.1.1 Regional Command

Within the framework of the allied command in Europe, two regional commands

function:

The allied forces of Northern Europe are Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark,

Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the Czech Republic. The

headquarters is located in Bursum, the Netherlands (until 1993 - the Northern Army

Group); (Nato.int)

The allied forces of Southern Europe are Hungary, Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey.

Headquarters - in Naples, Italy. (Nato.int)

The High Command in the Atlantic consists of five headquarters:

 East Atlantic,

 West Atlantic,

 South Atlantic,

 Shock fleet

 Allied command of submarines.

The official languages of NATO are English and French.

The NATO Council is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

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 The NATO High Command in Europe is located in Mons (Belgium).

1.3.2 NATO Response Force, NRF

The NATO Response Force is designed to provide operational support to NATO operations.

The concept of these forces was approved by the declaration of the meeting of the NATO

Heads of State in Prague on November 22, 2002 and approved by the ministers of defence of

the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in June 2003; their first headquarters

(NRF-1) was established in October 2003 in Italy. In accordance with the principle of

rotation, in 2004 the headquarters of NRF-2 in Portugal was established. (Nato.int)

On September 5, 2014, at a meeting of NATO leaders in Newport, it was decided to create a

joint high-level operational task force. These forces of approximately 4,000 are designed to

respond quickly in the event of a Russian attack on a NATO country. The main base and

command centre of the forces are planned to be deployed in the UK. The planned term for the

transfer and deployment of parts in countries bordering Russia (Poland, the Baltic states) does

not exceed 48 hours. (Nato.int)

1.4 Finance

According to an unofficial statement, members of the union should spend at least 2% of GDP

on defence. However, of the 25 European members of the alliance, only Britain, Poland,

Greece and Estonia fulfil this requirement. In 2013, the average rate of military spending by

European Union members was 1.4%. The decrease in military spending in European

countries was the result of cuts in military budgets due to the financial crisis in Europe.

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 The exception is the United States, where defence spending in 2013 amounted to 4.4% of

GDP. From 1995 to 2013, the US share in NATO spending rose from 59% to 72%.

1.4.1 Information Security

NATO has structures (“centres”) whose purpose is analysis and information security. There

are 20 such centres in the alliance countries, three of them are located in the Baltic states:

Estonia is engaged in cybersecurity, Lithuania is engaged in energy security, and Latvia is in

strategic communication. (Masters, 2019)

1.4.1.1.1 Strategic Communication Centre in Latvia

Located in Riga. The mission of the centre is to conduct research and develop

recommendations in several areas: information and psychological operations, public

relations, propaganda. One of the priority areas of the centre’s work was possible ways to

counter Russian Internet trolls.

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2 History of NATO

NATO's history is directly related to the events that took place in the world after the Second

World War. But let's try to find out the roots of NATO even more deeply. Three times since

the French Revolution in the last two hundred years, Europe has been able to peacefully

change the foundations of its security. Today, the continent is again on the brink of such

change. The first post-Napoleonic architecture for European security was developed at the

Congress of Vienna in 1815, which contained the threat of a large-scale European war over

99 years. The youth of the United States remained on the side-lines, though they had been

involved in two wars with England for forty years. (Nato.int)

For the second time, the architecture of European security was slightly modified in Versailles

in 1919. The central role in this process was played by President Woodrow Wilson, but the

United States hastened to withdraw from any structures created with their help. The move

contributed to the weakening of America and led to the tragic renewal of the general war

twenty years later. (Masters, 2019) When, in 1945, it was time to revise the principles of

European security, the great powers first built a system based on the principles proclaimed at

the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences and the UN Charter. But already in 1947, realizing that it

was unable to contain Soviet expansion, Western leaders created a more effective collective

security structure for peacetime, based on the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, NATO,

the Atlantic Partnership, and leadership. the role of America. (Nato.int)

This system reflected the main goals of American politics in Europe in the post-war period.

But in the era after the end of the Cold War, the United States faced new challenges in their

European politics, along with the old ones. This time, the US had to take the initiative of a

European architect in order to cover all the countries of the continent and thus stabilize

Europe as a whole. They were supposed to include their own Western countries, the countries

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of the former socialist camp in Central Europe, and most importantly Russia and the former

Soviet republics. (Masters, 2019)

Thus, between 1945 and 1949, the states of Western Europe and their allies in North America

faced the urgent problem of post-war economic recovery.

On January 22, 1948, Ernest Bevin (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom),

speaking in the House of Commons of the British Parliament, proposed, in one form or

another, an alliance of Western countries. (Masters, 2019) The proposal was supported by the

European community, and by signing in March 1948 the Treaty of Brussels, five Western

European countries, namely: Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom

and France, thus declared their strong commitment to creating an effective and mobile

defence system. to deepen mutual contacts so as to be able to counter the ideological and

political threat from the North. (Taylor, 2019)

Therefore, on September 27-28, 1948, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Brussels Treaty

states established the Western Union Defence Organization.

Afterwards, negotiations were held between the US and Canada to establish a united North

Alliance based on security guarantees and mutual commitments between Europe and North

America. And already on December 10, 1948, representatives of the States Parties to the

Brussels Treaty of the United States and Canada began in Washington negotiations on the

North Atlantic Treaty. The Member States of the Brussels Treaty invited Denmark, Iceland,

Italy, Norway and Portugal to participate in the process. The result of these negotiations was

the signing of the Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949, which established a common security

system based on the partnership of these countries. (Masters, 2019) The tunes that sounded in

the NATO establishment were American, reminding everyone who would now "order music"

to define the military doctrine of the bloc, and the policies of the countries within it. 12

March 1952, the first NATO Secretary General was Lord Ismei of Great Britain was elected.

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In 1952, Greece and Turkey joined the treaty. Germany joined the Alliance in 1955, and

Spain in 1982.

NATO was created as an alliance of independent states united by a common interest in

maintaining peace and protecting their freedom on the basis of political solidarity, ensuring

adequate defence to contain and, where appropriate, withdrawing any form of aggression

against them. Established in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which affirms the

inalienable right of States to individual or collective defence, the North Atlantic Union is a

community of free states, united in their determination to preserve their own security, on the

basis of giving each other mutual guarantees. (Taylor, 2019)

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 3 The effectiveness of NATO

Until recently, NATO was considered one of the most effective organizations in the world.

However, for 2019, several politicians questioned the continued effectiveness of the

institution. One of them was Emmanuel Macron, who announced the inefficiency of NATO

in 2019. Also, a Pentagon consultant, Major General Paul Vallely said that he did not see any

meaning in NATO and that the organization should be disbanded.

In total, over the past twenty years, NATO has been constantly active. 35 separate operations

were carried out, each of which carried out a specific mandate and mission, in various

theatres, involving in many cases a wide range of non-NATO countries (for example,

recently in Libya) and using different and separate operational forces and funds. (Nato.int)

Over the past two decades, NATO has repeatedly demonstrated its unique ability to plan and

begin in a short time to carry out (sometimes at a strategic distance from Europe and often

over long periods of time) multinational operations of various sizes and complexity. These

were both combined actions and operations of the SV, Air Force and Navy, for which various

skills, as well as forces and means, were required.

Almost all types of operations have been carried out, covering a wide range: from peace

enforcement in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo to a comprehensive operation to

promote security in Afghanistan, from embargo operations at sea off the coast of the SFRY

and Libya to operations on humanitarian and disaster relief in Albania and Pakistan.

(Armellini, A., 2011)

The Alliance has also demonstrated its willingness and ability to work together with other

international organizations such as the UN, WEU, EU, OSCE and AU; the ability to accept

responsibilities from some and transfer responsibilities to others (for example, IFOR from

UNPROFOR, from SFOR - ESFOR in Bosnia); the ability to act in parallel with coalition

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forces (for example, Provide Promise in Bosnia and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan) under

the leadership of NATO countries. (Armellini, A., 2011)

Many operations involved all Member States, such as IFOR, SFOR, KFOR and ISAF (ISAF).

Some operations were carried out with the involvement of NATO countries, as well as

various countries outside the NATO. Thanks to the participation in the operations and

missions of the armed forces of new NATO members and many partner countries, the

expansion and partnership of NATO has become noticeable and tangible. (Leiby, R., 2013)

However, there were some shortcomings in the planning and conduct of operations by NATO

and NATO countries. These include a systematic shortage of required manpower and

equipment (for example, helicopters in Afghanistan; frigates and patrol aircraft of basic

aviation in the Indian Ocean); insufficient attention paid to the provision of non-military

personnel and funds, for example, civilian development advisers and legal experts to support

stabilization and reconstruction efforts; the imposition by countries of restrictive conditions

(reservations) in the deployment and use of national military contingents by the commanders

(commanders) of NATO; inconsistent schedules for the replacement of personnel by

countries that sent military contingents, which violates the rhythm of operations; excessive

reliance on special command and control arrangements that depart and ultimately undermine

NATO’s agreed concepts and governance structures. From the point of view of the

effectiveness of individual NATO operations and missions, it would also be useful if Member

States more globally and politically approach the issue of overall management and provision

of resources. (Leiby, R., 2013)

Through its many operations and missions, NATO has made some progress. Events in Libya

once again demonstrated its ability to act, moreover, promptly and successfully, together with

other countries in difficult and unprecedented conditions. When, at a meeting in Chicago,

Alliance members think about the future direction of their transformation by 2020, as well as

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about next steps in Afghanistan and other places, they will be able to rely on their solid and

impressive experience in conducting operations and contribute to its further development.

(Armellini, A., 2011)

4 Consequence

Turning to 2020, the prospect of a slowdown in the pace of operations, but at the same time

the need to maintain readiness for action at any time, will force NATO to re-examine, and in

some cases reconsider its plan of action, moving in the following direction: providing new,

visible forms of presence , including due to the greater role of the NRF as a permanent,

highly effective and deployable group, as well as more regular NATO exercises; greater

emphasis on the Navy and onshore information exchange hubs to assist in ensuring maritime

security and overcoming new challenges at sea and in connection with activities at sea;

decisive efforts to use NATO’s new governing structure to manage operations as an

alternative to various special arrangements; more focused efforts to increase the number of

trainers that can be involved in NATO training missions for local security forces; greater

reliance on military cooperation with partners to enhance their potential contribution to future

NATO operations and missions and to help build local capacities; more systematic

networking between NATO centres of excellence and partner countries in order to create

compatible and coherent forces and assets together. These reforms should ensure that the

lessons learned from two decades of operations are reflected in NATO's changing operational

capabilities. At the same time, care must be taken to ensure that the transition process in

Afghanistan and the gradual return of contingents of NATO countries and partner countries

to places of permanent deployment do not weaken the ability to work together, and

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sometimes to conduct joint military operations, which are the essence of NATO’s ability to

respond and its effectiveness, which have gained recognition.

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 Literature:

1. Taylor, A., 2019. Would NATO Allies Keep Their Promise To Defend Members That Are

Attacked? It Depends Whom You Ask.. [online] Washingtonpost.com. Available at:

<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/12/02/would-nato-allies-keep-their-promise-

defend-members-that-are-attacked-it-depends-who-you-ask/>.

2. Masters, J., 2019. An Unsettled Alliance. [online] Council on Foreign Relations. Available at:

<https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-atlantic-treaty-organization-nato>.

3. Haass, R., 2018. Assessing The Value Of The NATO Alliance. [online] Council on Foreign

Relations. Available at: <https://www.cfr.org/report/assessing-value-nato-alliance>.

4. Council on Foreign Relations. 2019. A Conversation With Rose E. Gottemoeller. [online]

Available at: <https://www.cfr.org/event/conversation-rose-e-gottemoeller>.

5. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Office of Information Press, 1971. NATO review.

6. Lanigan, C.N., 2015. NATO. The Oxford Companion to British History, pp.The Oxford

Companion to British History.

7. NATO, 2005. NATO. NATO's Nations and Partners for Peace, (1), p.158.

8. Cook, D., 1974. NATO. The Atlantic Monthly (1971-1981), 233(000003), p.4.

9. Itzkowitz Shifrinson, J.R., 2017. NATO Enlargement—Was There a Promise? International

Security, 42(1), pp.189–192.

10. NATO, 2012. NATO Affirmed. American Foreign Policy Interests, 34(3), pp.167–168.

11. Missir, T., 2016. CONCEPTELE STRATEGICE NATO. Analele Universitatii "Constantin

Brancusi" din Targu Jiu. Serie Litere si Stiinte Sociale, pp.291–302.

12. Fischer, D., 2014. NATO - ten years after. International Issues & Slovak Foreign Policy

Affairs, 23(1/2), pp.90–101,106.

13. Anon, 1999. Brothers in arms: a NATO history. Austin American Statesman, pp.Austin

American Statesman, 1999–04-18.

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14. Kirchick, J., 2014. A Monroe Doctrine for NATO. Wall Street Journal, pp.Wall Street

Journal, 2014–09-18.

15. Nato, 2011. Extension of NATO operation in Libya cannot help normalize situation - Lavrov.

Interfax : Russia & CIS Military Newswire, pp.Interfax : Russia & CIS Military Newswire,

2011–06-02.

16. Leiby, R., 2013. Afghan officials say NATO ignored complaints of abuses by U.S. Special

Operations forces (Posted 2013-02-25 21:32:55). The Washington Post, pp.The Washington

Post, 2013–02-25.

17. Nato, 2019. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan meets with the

Commander of NATO Special Operations Headquarters - VIDEO. Eurasia Diary, pp.Eurasia

Diary, 2019–07-03.

18. Armellini, A., 2011. BRIEF: Rasmussen: NATO has taken full control of Libya operations.

McClatchy - Tribune Business News, pp.McClatchy - Tribune Business News, 2011–03-31.

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1 Structure of NATO………………………………………………………………1-8

1.2 Bodies of NATO………………………………………………………………1-5

1.3 Military establishment of NATO…………………………………………...…5-7

1.3.1 Regional Command…………………………………………....6

1.3.2 NATO Response Force, NFR………………………………….7

1.4 Finance…………………………………………………………………….…..7-8

1.4.1 Information Security……………………………………………8

1.4.1.1 Strategic Communication Centre in Latvia……………..8

2 History of NATO…………………………………………………………………8-11

3 The effectiveness of NATO……………………………………………………..12-14

4 Consequence…………………………………………………………………….14-15

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