Rising Powers, Rising Europe and the Future of NATO

Abstract

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949 to defend its members against what was then very much a rising power: Soviet Russia. Though the Cold War has ended, relations between the Alliance and Russia remain tense at the best of times and are now paralyzed because of the Ukrainian crisis. Membership is neither envisaged by NATO nor sought by Russia. The same applies to the other key rising powers today: China, India and Brazil. Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has successfully broadened its scope from a purely defensive alliance with an area of operations restricted to the North Atlantic, to a global security provider that can project military power for peace enforcement, peacekeeping, support and humanitarian operations around the globe. That global reach, epitomized by the operation in Afghanistan, where since 2003 NATO has led the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), has led the Alliance to forge relations with a whole range of countries, far beyond its traditional Euro-Atlantic focus - including the rising powers.