With NATO’s Strasbourg-Kehl summit in view, the study group on current affairs CARA has attempted to clear the way ahead and identify the resources needed for a renewal of the Alliance and to adapt it to the new strategic circumstances. From an analysis of the allied countries’ interests, it sketches the outline of a more coherent partnership between Europeans and Americans that would no longer be seen as ‘the strong arm of the West throughout the world’ but a more effective NATO complementary to European Security and Defence Policy.
Towards a Radical Reform of the Atlantic Alliance
‘No one rises so high as he who knows not whither he is going.’
Oliver Cromwell
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union the Atlantic Alliance has been looking for a raison d’être. A tendency already perceptible under the Clinton administration, whereby the United States no longer hesitated to conduct world affairs without its allies, even against their judgement, became more pronounced under the Bush administration. Several crucial political dossiers were thus handled within the Atlantic framework without any real regard for their interaction (Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Ukraine, Georgia, anti-missile shield, etc.). The inconsistencies of this posture, and the risks that it posed for Europe, created a certain circumspection within those European countries hitherto quite naturally in phase with Washington.
As for its executive organisation, NATO has moved into a permanent transformation cycle, in order to adapt to changing circumstances. At the same time, technical problems have increased, chiefly in obtaining adequate operational resources from the European allies.
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