Partnership for Peace: What's Next for NATO?

• Main Author: Hayes, Timothy W.
• Other Authors: NATIONAL WAR COLL WASHINGTON DC
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1994
• Subjects: Government and Political Science; Military Forces and Organizations; *NATO; *UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT; *EXPANSION; *EASTERN EUROPE; *EAST WEST RELATIONS; *CIS; *RUSSIA; MILITARY FORCES(UNITED STATES); PEACEKEEPING; WESTERN SECURITY(INTERNATIONAL); DEMOCRACY; COOPERATION; UNITED NATIONS; JOINT MILITARY ACTIVITIES; STABILITY; MILITARY STRATEGY; *PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE; *NATO EXPANSION; PFP(PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE); POST COLD WAR ERA; NACC(NORTH ATLANTIC COOPERATION COUNCIL); HUMANITARIAN AID; PFP IMPLEMENTATION; MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA; MEMBERSHIP TIMELINES; EUROPEAN SECURITY; CJTF(COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE); CSCE(CONFERENCE ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE); North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA444260; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA444260

The Partnership for Peace (PFP) is a significant step forward in solving a dilemma that NATO has been struggling with since the end of the Cold War. That dilemma has been whether to expand or not. It appears the Alliance has accepted, in principle, that PFP will lead to NATO expansion. However, it is still unclear exactly how and when the expansion will take place. Even more unclear is who will be accepted as a member, and who will not. The five objectives of PFP are as follows: (1) facilitation of transparency in national defense planning and budgeting processes; (2) ensuring democratic control of defense forces; (3) maintenance of the capability and readiness to contribute, subject to constitutional considerations, to operations under the authority of the United Nations and/or the responsibility of the CSCE; (4) the development of cooperative military relations with NATO for the purpose of joint planning, training, and exercises to strengthen their ability to undertake missions in the fields of peacekeeping, search and rescue, humanitarian operations, and others as may be agreed upon; and (5) the development, over the long term, of forces that are better able to operate with those of the members of the North Atlantic Alliance. This essay looks at the future of NATO, now that it has endorsed PFP, and discusses how it must adjust to the changing conditions throughout Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The essay examines how NATO has changed since the Cold War; analyzes the specifics of the PFP Framework Document; reviews the advantages and disadvantages of PFP; provides suggestions on how the Alliance should implement PFP, including clear criteria for PFP members who want to join NATO and timelines for doing so; proposes a blueprint for the United States' role in an orderly and meaningful expansion of NATO; and discusses how extending NATO membership to Eastern Europe could affect the placement of U.S. soldiers in Europe and U.S. military strategy.