NATO Crisis Management: Cooperation with PfP Partners and Other International Organizations

Abstract

Crisis management and conflict prevention, including crisis response operations that do not fall under Article V of the NATO Charter, have been major themes in the continuing adaptation of the Alliance to the post-Cold War security environment. This article focuses on a key aspect of the adaptation of NATO crisis management and conflict prevention mechanisms: cooperation with Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and Partnership for Peace (PfP) partners and with other key international organizations that contribute to international peace and security and, in particular, recent developments in NATO–EU relations. The Strategic Concept adopted in Rome in 1991 emphasized the importance of crisis management, and the revised Strategic Concept adopted in Washington on 24 April 1999 identified crisis management and conflict prevention as ‘fundamental security tasks’ of the Alliance. It stated: “... in order to enhance the security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic area: Crisis Management: To stand ready, case-by-case and by consensus, in conformity with Article 7 of the Washington Treaty, to contribute to effective conflict prevention and to engage actively in crisis management, including crisis response operations.” Alliance members noted that NATO’s preparedness to carry out such operations supports the broader objective of reinforcing and extending stability and often involves the participation of NATO’s partners, and that it will make full use of partnership, cooperation and dialogue and NATO’s links to other organizations to contribute to preventing crises and, should they arise, defusing them at an early stage.