NATO in the multi-order world
License
Cadmus Permanent Link
Full-text via DOI
ISBN
ISSN
0020-5850; 1468-2346
Issue Date
Type of Publication
Keyword(s)
LC Subject Heading
Other Topic(s)
EUI Research Cluster(s)
Initial version
Published version
Succeeding version
Preceding version
Published version part
Earlier different version
Initial format
Author(s)
Citation
International affairs, 2024, Vol. 100, No. 2, pp. 471-489
Cite
FLOCKHART, Trine, NATO in the multi-order world, International affairs, 2024, Vol. 100, No. 2, pp. 471-489 - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/92987
Abstract
NATO has for 75 years been a remarkably resilient organization because it has been able to change when the world changed. NATO's longevity is in large part due to a dual structure, which has enabled the alliance to oscillate between a role as a military alliance and as a community of value. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and global geopolitical shifts such as the rise of China prompted NATO to prioritize its role as a military alliance and to add a new political focus on China. However, this article demonstrates that NATO's reading of the geopolitical transformation is incomplete. NATO should recognize the new global ordering architecture as a multi-order one, which requires NATO to distinguish clearly between the ‘unbounded’ global rules-based order in which several international orders now exist and the ‘bounded’ liberal international order of which NATO is a key institution. NATO needs to develop its policies accordingly—policies governing relations within the liberal international order must be clearly anchored in liberal values and designed to defend liberal international order, while policies governing relations between international orders cannot be anchored in liberal values, but must seek rules-based cooperation in areas of shared interests.
Table of Contents
Additional Information
Published: 04 March 2024