The Purpose of NATO

The Purpose of NATO in the 21st Century

The role of NATO in the 21st century is still be being defined. In the 20th century, NATO stood against militarism in Europe such as communism, fascism, and authoritarianism. In the 21st century, the enemies of NATO are less defined. There are no major militarist powers in Europe and with the Soviet Union disbanded, Russia is little more than a shadow of its former self. In fact, some of the Soviet Union's satellite states in the Warsaw Pact have joined NATO since the turn of the millennium. NATO is asserting itself in several areas globally in a process to redefine itself for the current century.

Recently, NATO has been involved with fighting terrorist groups in the Middle East, where Article V was invoked for the first time. NATO’s actions in the Middle East have identified terrorist groups as the enemies of NATO for the 21st century. Despite the new developments globally, NATO still considers Russia as a threat. In recent years, Russia has been openly supportive of regimes such as Assad in Syria and has been the aggressor in conflicts on the Ukrainian border and Chechnya. Furthermore, Russia has been responsible for electronic attacks on the nations of NATO affecting politics, economics, and society. NATO is beginning to build its resources to combat Russian aggression in the East. Economically however, with China’s GDP on a steady growing curve, NATO members have started to prepare for the East Asian superpower.

With Donald Trump the President of the United States, NATO itself is at risk. He is calling for all member nations to pull their own weight and pay for a certain amount of NATO funding or risk losing NATO membership and protection. Not all nations are able to do so since some are still recovering from the economic recession of 2008 leaving NATO at risk of attack.