NATO STRATEGY THROUGHOUT HISTORY

by Marta Rodríguez Ramiro

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union, as well as to curb nationalist militarism in Europe, which had led to two world wars, and to encourage European political integration (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022a). The organization operated based on a dual strategy: political and military (Rearden, 1995). The former relied on collective security, while the latter evolved depending on the historical context.

During the Cold War, NATO’s strategy was centered on defense and deterrence vis-à-vis the Soviet Union. From the 1970s onward, growing attention was paid to dialogue and détente as a result of the change in relations between the Western bloc and the Warsaw Pact.?

In total, four Strategic Concepts were adopted during the Cold War period. The first one (1950) detailed NATO’s main function, that is, to deter aggression, and introduced the principles of standardization and complementarity between members (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b).

The Korean invasion in 1950 raised two main issues: the need to establish an integrated military force and a forward strategy. However, NATO’s second Strategic Concept (1952) only addressed the latter, which meant deploying its defenses as close to the Iron Curtain as possible, until the Federal Republic of Germany became a member five years later (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b).

The organization’s third Strategic Concept (1957) discussed the use of nuclear weapons and advocated massive retaliation for the first time. This ruled out the concept of limited war with the Soviet Union but allowed some flexibility in dealing with smaller forms of aggression that would not necessarily involve a nuclear response (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b).

Following the Cuban missile crisis, the United States became concerned about the possibility of a nuclear war as a result of an accident or miscalculation and started favoring a flexible response strategy, with a stronger non-nuclear stance (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b). This led to the fourth Strategic Concept (1967), which identified three types of military response against aggression: direct defense, deliberate escalation, and general nuclear response (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b).

For NATO, the post-Cold War period was characterized by dialogue and cooperation as former Communist countries became partners and members of the Alliance, which found other ways to contribute to peace and stability, such as crisis management operations (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b). Some argued that the organization had outlived its usefulness after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Iron Curtain, but ethnic and religious tensions in Eastern Europe proved them wrong. NATO slowly underwent a transformation from an anti-Soviet, defensive coalition with deterrence as its main purpose to one that focused more on peacekeeping and humanitarian missions (Rearden, 1995).

During this period, NATO released three more Strategic Concepts. The fifth one (1991) differed from the previous ones because it was non-confrontational and non-confidential, as it sought to improve and expand security in Europe through cooperation with former adversaries while continuing to respect the principle of collective defense (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b). It also reduced the use of nuclear forces to a minimum level, enough to preserve peace and stability.

The sixth Strategic Concept (1999) was based on a broad definition of security that included political, economic, social, and environmental factors and recognized the new risks that had emerged after the Cold War, namely, terrorism, ethnic conflicts, human rights abuses, and the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b).

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, NATO members realized that they needed to protect their populations both at home and abroad. This was reflected in the seventh Strategic Concept (2010), which revolved around collective defense, crisis management, and cooperative security and sought to promote international security through arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b).

The current Strategic Concept was adopted during the 2022 Madrid Summit amid a climate of instability and strategic competition, exacerbated by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the rise of China. It focuses on domains such as hybrid threats, cybersecurity, and climate change (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2022b).

Throughout the organization’s history, NATO’s Strategic Concepts have evolved depending on historical circumstances. During the Cold War, the focus was placed on deterrence and defense strategies, while the post-Cold War context calls for a more holistic approach to international security that takes into account old and new threats in the context of geopolitical competition.

References

North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (2022a, June 3). A short history of NATO. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_139339.htm

North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (2022b, July 18). Strategic Concepts. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_56626.htm

Rearden, S. L. (1995). NATO’s Strategy: Past, Present, and Future. In S. Papacosma, & M. A. Heiss, NATO in the Post-Cold War Era. Palgrave Macmillan.