Transatlantic Security Relations: NATO Relevance Issues

This article focuses on the crisis of transatlantic relations, which seriously affect the formation of the European security architecture. The author examines the system of interaction between European countries in a historical perspective in order to find the prerequisites for the existing ties within the Alliance. The analysis of NATO's transformation after the Cold War also reveals the relationship between the goals of unification and the realization of their interests mainly under the guise of universal security, which is quite clearly seen in the relations between the United States and NATO. The high uncertainty of the Alliance in the distribution of priorities, the difference in positions regarding the regional focus of the association and often the impossibility of consolidation in the mobilization of available resources have been corroding the unity of the union for many years, which makes it a rather controversial instrument of global governance to maintain peaceful coexistence of states. The main conclusion of the study is that the main challenge NATO cannot cope with is the internal crisis caused by the inconsistency of the actions of the participating countries, the American dominance in decision-making process, the dependence of European economies on the United States. Acting as a provider of international security, in reality, the alliance is rather an instrument for the realization of the national interests of individual states participating in the military-political bloc. Despite the fact that the question of the relevance of NATO has been raised more than once in the history of its existence, the Alliance continues to gravitate towards expansion. However, this will hardly save it from internal contradictions, which with each new challenge from the outside are exposed more and more clearly and cause more and more concern among the codependent members of the Alliance.

NATO, world politics, international security, NATO challenges, Europe, Cold War, NATO expansion, the United States, collective security, foreign policy