Opening NATO's Door

How the Alliance Remade Itself for a New Era
Erscheinungsjahr 2004
ISBN: 978-0-231-12777-6
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 415 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 167 mm x 226 mm, Gewicht: 553 g

Reihe: A Council on Foreign Relations Book

How and why did NATO, a Cold War military alliance created in 1949 to counter Stalin's USSR, become the cornerstone of new security order for post-Cold War Europe? Why, instead of retreating from Europe after communism's collapse, did the U.S. launch the greatest expansion of the American commitment to the old continent in decades? Written by a high-level insider, Opening NATO's Door provides a definitive account of the ideas, politics, and diplomacy that went into the historic decision to expand NATO to Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on the still-classified archives of the U.S. Department of State, Ronald D. Asmus recounts how and why American policymakers, against formidable odds at home and abroad, expanded NATO as part of a broader strategy to overcome Europe's Cold War divide and to modernize the Alliance for a new era.

Asmus was one of the earliest advocates and intellectual architects of NATO enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe after the collapse of communism in the early 1990s and subsequently served as a top aide to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott, responsible for European security issues. He was involved in the key negotiations that led to NATO's decision to extend invitations to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, the signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, and finally, the U.S. Senate's ratification of enlargement.

Asmus documents how the Clinton Administration sought to develop a rationale for a new NATO that would bind the U.S. and Europe together as closely in the post-Cold War era as they had been during the fight against communism. For the Clinton Administration, NATO enlargement became the centerpiece of a broader agenda to modernize the U.S.-European strategic partnership for the future. That strategy reflected an American commitment to the spread of democracy and Western values, the importance attached to modernizing Washington's key alliances for an increasingly globalized world, and the fact that the Clinton Administration looked to Europe as America's natural partner in addressing the challenges of the twenty-first century.

As the Alliance weighs its the future following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. and prepares for a second round of enlargement, this book is required reading about the first post-Cold War effort to modernize NATO for a new era.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Asmus, Ronald D.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Robertson, George

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Militärwesen Nationale und Internationale Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Militärgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword, by Lord RobinsonBook I. The Origins1. An Ambiguous Pledge2. Dismantling Yalta3. Aligning With the WestBook II. The Debate Begins1. Russia First2. Making the Case3. "We Need A Perspective"4. The Partnership for PeaceBook III. Across the Rubicon1. An Ambiguous Decision2. Shifting Gears3. Pressure From the Right4. Holbrooke's Return5. Across the RubiconBook IV. Establishing the Dual Track1. Establishing the NATO Track2. A Parallel Track With Moscow3. The May-for-May Deal4. The Political Battle Heats Up5. Bosnia and NATO EnlargementBook V. Toward a New NATO1. On the Back Burner2. Sleeping with the Porcupine3. Tough Love for Central and Eastern Europe4. Ukraine and the Baltic States5. "A Long Dance with Natasha"Book VI. The NATO-Russia Endgame1. Madeleine's Vision2. Chancellor Kohl Comes Through3. The Road to Helsinki4. Breakthrough at Helsinki5. Playing Both Sides of the ChessboardBook VII. Head-to-Head at Madrid1. Sintra2. Playing the Heavy3. A Baltic Challenge4. Madrid5. The Final CompromiseBook VIII. The Political Battle1. Creating a Command Post: the Birth of S/NERO2. The Campaign Starts3. Dancing with Jesse Helms4. New Members and New Missions5. The Endgame

Über Autor(innen)

Ronald D. Asmus is senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund and adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. This book was written while he was a senior fellow at CFR from 2000 to 2002. He served as a deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe from 1997 to 2000.