Albanian-NATO Relations in the Fight Against International Terrorism

• Main Author: Tola, Dorian
• Other Authors: NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA DEPT OF NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Government and Political Science; Military Forces and Organizations; Unconventional Warfare; *ALBANIA; *COOPERATION; *COUNTERTERRORISM; *GOVERNMENT(FOREIGN); *INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; *NATO; *TRANSFORMATIONS; COLD WAR; COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS; INTEGRATION; ISLAM; KOSOVO; MILITARY FORCES(FOREIGN); POLICIES; POSTWAR; SECURITY; STABILITY; THESES; *ALBANIA-NATO PARTNERSHIP; *ALBANIAN-NATO RELATIONS; *INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM; *NATO MEMBERSHIP; POLITICAL TRANSFORMATIONS; INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATIONS; EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION; DEFENSE REFORMS; POST-COLD WAR ERA; KOSOVO CRISIS; ISLAMIST EXTREMISM; POST-9/11 ERA; INTERNAL SECURITY; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA574563; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA574563

After the September 11 attacks on the United States, Albania, a majority-Muslim country in a region vulnerable to 21st-century threats -- and at the time, a candidate NATO member -- aligned immediately and publically with the North Atlantic Alliance to fight international terrorism. This decision reflected a process of political and institutional transformation in Albania that has important implications for both Albania, as a new NATO member, and the alliance, as it faces the counterterrorism challenges of the coming years. This thesis examines the effects of NATO policy and practice throughout the accession process (1994-2009), and afterward, in shaping and guiding Albanian counterterrorism efforts. The thesis argues that this relationship has positive consequences for Albania in terms of international security, defense and military affairs, and domestic security. This suggests that, in the future, Albania will continue to be a committed member of the Alliance, ready to play its role in fostering and extending cooperation with partner countries in the fight against international terrorism. The Albanian-NATO partnership also underscores for NATO the importance of developing partnerships to counter international terrorism.