NATO and the Ukraine Crisis

Abstract

ABSTRACTRussia's new assertiveness forces the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to put greater emphasis on reassuring its easternmost member states about the credibility of the Allies’ collective defense commitment. This is to be accomplished through the “Readiness Action Plan,” which foresees a greater rotational military presence in Central and Eastern Europe. However, the Allies will seek to ensure that this reemphasis on collective defense in Europe will not come at the expense of expeditionary missions at Europe's periphery or beyond. Finding a compromise between collective defense and crisis management, as well as between hedging against Russia and seeking ways to constructively reengage, amount to a complex double balancing act. Hence, the idea that NATO could somehow be rejuvenated by the Ukraine crisis is underestimating the challenges that the Allies now confront.