Puzzles of EU and NATO Accession of Post-Communist Countries

Abstract

Accessions of post-communist countries to the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) represent puzzles. While many such countries were granted a membership or a prospect of membership in these organisations, other European post-communist countries were not offered accession or the prospect of membership in the EU and NATO. The question is which factors account for such significant variation in accession to the EU and NATO among European post-communist countries. This article uses statistical analysis to determine which factors affect the accession of 25 European post-communist states to the EU and NATO in 1997–2010. The study shows that the level of democracy is positively associated with accession to NATO and the EU. Conflicts have a negative impact on the NATO enlargement, while the level of economic development has a positive effect on EU enlargement. Being a post-Soviet country has a negative effect on both NATO and EU accession.