The ‘NATO Operations’ program provides historical and analytical commentary on missions and operations conducted by NATO—both past and present, and around the world. It looks at events that shape global politics, and provides information on a variety of countries and events that affect their futures. When probing into some of the most influential events in modern history, our enthusiastic group of writers are always excited and ready to provide interesting and objective insights to our readers.
The second decade of the 21st century has been defined by the rise of political newcomers in Europe as mavericks like Emmanuel Macron, Beppe Grillo and Zuzana Caputova have successfully challenged incumbent politicians. Now, the club has a new member: the recently elected president of Ukraine, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky. He won the runoff election against […]
NATO is currently at a crossroads, with tensions brewing between allies and some critics questioning the very basis of the alliance’s existence. As Timothy Andrews Sayle demonstrates in his magisterial new book Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order (Cornell University Press, 2019), these challenges are in fact nothing new. Throughout […]
When people talk about NATO, they often refer to the Alliance as a unitary actor that supports certain values and undertakes specific actions. Sometimes they discuss the policies of its member states. There is nothing wrong with referring to NATO as a single actor or as a group of states; an alliance is meant to […]
Air policing, a peacetime collective defense mission, is a NATO initiative for safeguarding the “integrity of the NATO Alliance Member’s Airspace”. As this initiative is one tied to the founding principles of the NATO treaty, it further binds members together in a defense coalition. Falling in line with the principles of collective security, NATO members […]
Once upon a time, the Ancient Greeks referred to the Black Sea as the “Inhospitable Sea”, inspired by their navigational challenges and the hostile tribes living on its shores. The Black Sea has come a long way since then; today, its waters host vast energy deposits that are traded globally, busy shipping lanes, and countless […]
When the Treaty of Brussels was signed on August 25, 1948, the world was, geopolitically speaking, a strikingly different place. Just three years prior, Germany had signed its unconditional surrender, officially ending a war that left upwards of 60 million killed. When informed by advisors that Soviet forces were a day’s march from Berlin, Hitler […]
Libya has experienced an ongoing political crisis since the Arab revolt and protests of 2011. The aftermath of the protests has led to a civil war, foreign military intervention backed by NATO, the ousting of the former President Muammar Gaddafi. The problems occurring in Libya can be traced back to Gaddafi’s downfall, as Libyan society […]
Slovakia’s new president is an encouraging symbol for the future of NATO’s founding values of rule of law, democracy, and individual freedom in both Slovakia and the Central + Eastern European region.
Naz Gocek examines the viability of President Trump’s proposal to make Brazil a NATO member and related impacts.
Naz Gocek explores what Brexit might mean for NATO and European security.