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Copyright University of Defence 2005

Abstract

Over several last decades, NATO has undergone a radical change from a defence alliance to a defence organisation that is aiming to cover the whole of Europe. While in the Cold War period the cooperation in the areas of defence and security was basically limited to the activities of member countries within the NATO structures, since the beginning of the 1990s, the sphere of the organisation, characterised by its newly dened goals, has been expanding. The changes also occurred in the traditional transatlantic link. The analysis of the current relationships between the USA and Canada on the one hand, and their European allies on the other hand, leads to the following conclusions: 1. After the end of the Cold War, the evolution of the transatlantic relationships entered a new phase characterised by a revision of the existing political and organisational arrangements. 2. In the NATO, there is no longer a universally shared opinion as to the desirable shape of the transatlantic relationships, which means that both cooperation between the USA and its European partners and their rivalry are possible in the future. 3. The transformation of the transatlantic relationships takes place in the conditions of growing mutual interdependence between various political, economic and social processes that, while taking place mostly outside of the borders of the Alliance, obviously exert a signicant influence on the shape of the relationships. No doubt, only Euro-American cooperation can settle disputes arising among democratic countries, prevent negative phenomena and tendencies on the international scene, and preserve the influence of the Alliance on the developments both on the European continent and worldwide. This is all the more true because of the fact that the Alliance consists of countries that share common cultural, historical and civilization roots. Because of these close links, the Alliance is the only community of democratic countries maintaining common normative and institutional bonds enabling it to preserve its influence on the international scene. This is also the basis for the new role (that is actually not very different from the old one) of NATO, which should: (1) serve as an instrument for the maintaining and strengthening of the ideals of the freedom of the individual, democracy as a desirable regime, and market economy as a precondition for satisfying both individual and social needs; (2) stabilise the European continent, provide for the security and development of NATO countries and set up a platform for the prevention of external threats; and finally (3) ensure realisation of the goals that were set up in the Washington Treaty. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Details

Title
SEVEROATLANTICKÁ ALIANCE NA PRAHU XXI. STOLETÍ
Author
Gryz, Jaroslaw
Pages
55-63,138-139
Publication year
2005
Publication date
2005
Publisher
University of Defence
ISSN
12146463
e-ISSN
18027199
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English, Czech
ProQuest document ID
1018570520
Copyright
Copyright University of Defence 2005