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{{Short description|Intergovernmental military alliance}}
{{Redirect|OTAN|other uses|NATO (disambiguation)|and|OTAN (disambiguation)}}
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{{Use Oxford spelling|date=July 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024|cs1-dates=l}}
{{Infobox organization
| name             = North Atlantic Treaty Organization
| native_name      = {{lang|fr|Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord}}
| native_name_lang = fr
| logo             = NATO OTAN landscape logo.svg
| logo_size        = 175px
| logo_caption     = Logo
| image            = NATO flag.svg{{!}}border
| image_size       = 150px
| caption          = [[Flag of NATO|Flag]]
| map              = {{Switcher | [[File:NATO (Orthographic Projection).svg|upright=1.25|frameless]]  | Show globe | [[File:NATO (Locator Map).svg|upright=1.25|frameless]] | Show Europe }}
| map_size         = 250px
| map_caption      = Member states shown in dark green
| abbreviation     = {{hlist|NATO|OTAN}}
| formation        = {{Start date and age|1949|4|4|df=y|p=y}}
| type             = [[Military alliance]]
| headquarters     = [[City of Brussels|Brussels]], Belgium
| expenses         = '''Total''': {{USD|1.588 trillion|link=yes}}<br />
'''Excluding the US''': {{USD|608 billion|link=yes}}<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nato.int/content/dam/nato/webready/documents/finance/def-exp-2025-en.pdf |title=Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014–2025)|publisher=NATO}}</ref>
| expenses_year    = 2025 estimate
| num_members      = {{Collapsible list|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
 |title = [[Member states of NATO|32 states]]
 |{{flaglist|Albania}}
 |{{flaglist|Belgium}}
 |{{flaglist|Bulgaria}}
 |{{flaglist|Canada}}
 |{{flaglist|Croatia}}
 |{{nowrap|{{flaglist|Czech Republic}}}}
 |{{flaglist|Denmark}}
 |{{flaglist|Estonia}}
 |{{flaglist|Finland}}
 |{{flaglist|France}}
 |{{flaglist|Germany}}
 |{{flaglist|Greece}}
 |{{flaglist|Hungary}}
 |{{flaglist|Iceland}}
 |{{flaglist|Italy}}
 |{{flaglist|Latvia}}
 |{{flaglist|Lithuania}}
 |{{flaglist|Luxembourg}}
 |{{flaglist|Montenegro}}
 |{{flaglist|Netherlands}}
 |{{nowrap|{{flaglist|North Macedonia}}}}
 |{{flaglist|Norway}}
 |{{flaglist|Poland}}
 |{{flaglist|Portugal}}
 |{{flaglist|Romania}}
 |{{flaglist|Slovakia}}
 |{{flaglist|Slovenia}}
 |{{flaglist|Spain}}
 |{{flaglist|Sweden}}
 |{{flaglist|Turkey}}
 |{{nowrap|{{flaglist|United Kingdom}}}}
 |{{nowrap|{{flaglist|United States}}}}
 }}
| languages        = {{hlist|[[English language|English]]|[[French language|French]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 September 1949 |title=Final Communiqué |url=https://www.nato.int/docu/comm/49-95/c490917a.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206002220/http://www.nato.int/docu/comm/49-95/c490917a.htm |archive-date=6 December 2006 |access-date=2 March 2024 |publisher=NATO |quote=English and French shall be the official languages for the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 April 1949 |title=The North Atlantic Treaty |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_17120.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914102953/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_17120.htm |archive-date=14 September 2011 |access-date=2 March 2024 |publisher=NATO |language=en |quote=This Treaty, of which the English and French texts are equally authentic&nbsp;...}}</ref>}}
| leader_title     = [[Secretary General of NATO|Secretary General]]
| leader_name      = [[Mark Rutte]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mark Rutte takes office as NATO Secretary General |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_229142.htm?selectedLocale=en |access-date=2024-10-01 |publisher=NATO |language=en}}</ref>
| leader_title2    = [[Chair of the NATO Military Committee]]
| leader_name2     = [[Giuseppe Cavo Dragone]]
| leader_title3    = [[Supreme Allied Commander Europe]]
| leader_name3     = [[Alexus Grynkewich]]
| leader_title4    = [[Allied Command Transformation#Supreme Allied Commander Transformation|Supreme Allied Commander Transformation]]
| leader_name4     = [[Pierre Vandier]]
| website          = {{URL|https://www.nato.int/|nato.int}}
| footnotes        = {{center|'''Anthem:''' "[[The NATO Hymn]]" }}{{center|'''Motto:''' "[[Animus in consulendo liber]]" }}
}}

The '''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''' ('''NATO'''){{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|eɪ|t|oʊ}}, {{respell|NAY|toh}}. Also called the '''North Atlantic Alliance'''. {{langx|fr|Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord}} ('''OTAN''').}} is an [[intergovernmental organization|intergovernmental]] [[military alliance]] between [[Member states of NATO|32 member states]]—30 in [[Europe]]<!-- Please do not change into something like "29 European and 1 Asian" (or "1 transcontinental" or "1 Eurasian") because of Turkey. Current consensus, as established in [[Talk:NATO/Archive 4#Eurasian?]], is to consider Turkey as European for this purpose (the definition of 'Europe' here is more political than geographical). If we were going to be geographically rigorous, we would have to remember that Portugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands and the UK all have territory in several other continents as well. --> and two in [[North America]]. Founded in the [[aftermath of World War II]], NATO was established with the signing of the [[North Atlantic Treaty]] in 1949. The organization serves as a system of [[collective security]] and [[Deterrence theory|deterrence]], whereby its independent members agree to defend each-other from attack by any outside party. This is enshrined in Article 5 of the treaty, which states that an armed attack against the territory of one member shall be considered an attack against them all.

Throughout the [[Cold War]], NATO's primary purpose was to deter and counter the threat posed by the [[Soviet Union]] and its [[satellite state]]s, which formed the rival [[Warsaw Pact]]. Following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991, the alliance adapted. NATO undertook its first military intervention [[NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina|in the Bosnian War]] (1992–1995); with a [[United Nations Security Council resolution|United Nations mandate]], it [[Operation Deny Flight|enforced]] a no-fly zone and [[Operation Deliberate Force|defended]] UN safe zones. NATO also intervened [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|in the Kosovo War]] (1999), bombing [[Serbia and Montenegro|Yugoslav]] forces to prevent [[War crimes in the Kosovo War|ethnic cleansing]]. Article 5 was invoked for the only time, by the [[United States]], after the [[September 11 attacks]], leading to NATO involvement [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|in Afghanistan]] (2001–2014) as part of the [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF). In 2011, NATO intervened [[2011 military intervention in Libya|in the Libyan civil war]], with a [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973|UN mandate]] to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians. The alliance has since been involved in [[NATO Training Mission – Iraq|training Iraq's military]] and [[Operation Ocean Shield|countering piracy]].

Since the end of the Cold War, the alliance has [[Enlargement of NATO|accepted sixteen new members]] in Europe. NATO recognizes [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Ukraine]] and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] as aspiring members. [[Russia–NATO relations]] had been co-operative, but became adversarial during [[Vladimir Putin]]'s second presidency. Putin called NATO's eastward enlargement a threat, and [[Russian opposition to Ukrainian NATO membership|opposes Ukraine joining]] the alliance. Following the [[2014 Russian annexation of Crimea|Russian annexation of Crimea]] in 2014, NATO suspended co-operation and deployed [[NATO Enhanced Forward Presence|a tripwire force]] in the east. The [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] prompted NATO to reinforce its eastern flank and send [[Ukraine Defense Contact Group|military aid to Ukraine]]. The invasion caused [[Finland]] and [[Sweden]] to join the alliance. Since the invasion, Russia has been accused of waging a [[Russian hybrid warfare|hybrid conflict]] against NATO. Since 2025, there has been internal crisis in NATO due to [[American expansionism under Donald Trump|threats made]] by the United States, a major contributing member, against the sovereignty of fellow members [[Canada]] and [[Kingdom of Denmark|Denmark]].

NATO members contribute to collective defense in two ways: by funding their own defense, and by helping to fund a shared budget for running the organization as a whole and maintaining joint facilities. Each member has committed to a target of spending at least 5% of their [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) on their own defense,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Defence expenditures and NATO's 5% commitment |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49198.htm |access-date=2025-08-07 |website=NATO |language=en}}</ref> while in 2026 the shared budget was around €5 billion split between all 32 members.<ref>{{cite web |title=Funding NATO |url=https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/introduction-to-nato/funding-nato |website=NATO |access-date=22 April 2026}}</ref> As of 2026, the United States spends the most overall on its defense, [[Norway]] spends the most ''[[per capita]]'', while [[Poland]] and the [[Baltic states]] spend the most as a share of GDP.<ref>{{cite web |title=NATO defense spending tracker |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/commentary/trackers-and-data-visualizations/nato-defense-spending-tracker/ |website=[[Atlantic Council]] |access-date=22 April 2026}}</ref> The combined military spending of NATO members makes up over half of the [[List of countries with highest military expenditures|world total]]. The combined militaries of all NATO members include about 3.5 million soldiers and personnel. [[NATO headquarters|NATO's main headquarters]] are in [[Brussels]], Belgium, while [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe|its military headquarters]] are near [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], Belgium.

==History==
{{Main|History of NATO}}

===20th century===
NATO has its roots in the [[Atlantic Charter]], a 1941 agreement between the United States and United Kingdom. The Charter laid out a framework for international cooperation without territorial expansion after [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biden, Johnson sign new Atlantic Charter on trade, defense amid Covid recovery|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-johnson-sign-new-atlantic-charter-trade-defense-amid-covid-n1270282|access-date=10 June 2021|website=NBC News|date=10 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref> On 4 March 1947, the [[Treaty of Dunkirk]] was signed by France and the United Kingdom during the [[aftermath of World War II]] and the [[Cold War (1947–1953)|start of the Cold War]] as a ''Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance'' in the event of possible attacks by Germany. In March 1948, this alliance was expanded in the [[Treaty of Brussels]] to include the [[Benelux]] countries, forming the Brussels Treaty Organization, commonly known as the [[Western Union (alliance)|Western Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cvce.eu/en/collections/unit-content/-/unit/d5906df5-4f83-4603-85f7-0cabc24b9fe1/051bd03c-4887-4f53-82eb-0f12e59f8dbd |title= The origins of WEU: Western Union |website= University of Luxembourg |date= December 2009 |access-date= 23 July 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180621020009/https://www.cvce.eu/en/collections/unit-content/-/unit/d5906df5-4f83-4603-85f7-0cabc24b9fe1/051bd03c-4887-4f53-82eb-0f12e59f8dbd |archive-date= 21 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Talks for a wider military alliance, which could include North America, also began that month in the United States, where their foreign policy under the [[Truman Doctrine]] set out in 1947 promoted international solidarity against actions they saw as communist aggression, such as the [[1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état|February 1948 coup d'état in Czechoslovakia]]. These talks resulted in the signature of the [[North Atlantic Treaty]] on 4 April 1949 by the member states of the Western Union plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland.<ref name=history>{{cite web |url= http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_139339.htm |title= A short history of NATO |publisher= NATO |access-date= 26 March 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170326231233/http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_139339.htm |archive-date= 26 March 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Canadian diplomat [[Lester B. Pearson]] was a key author and drafter of the treaty.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_161511.htm | title=Canada and NATO – 1949 | access-date=14 April 2022 | archive-date=8 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408074851/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_161511.htm | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8LgDutkaOU0C&dq=%22author+of+the+north+atlantic+treaty%22&pg=PA293 |title=Speaking Out: A Congressman's Lifelong Fight Against Bigotry, Famine, and War |isbn=9781569768914 |accessdate=24 April 2022 |last1=Findley |first1=Paul |year=2011 |publisher=Chicago Review Press, Incorporated |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404032047/https://books.google.com/books?id=8LgDutkaOU0C&dq=%22author+of+the+north+atlantic+treaty%22&pg=PA293 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nktsAAAAIAAJ&q=%22founder+of+the+north+atlantic+treaty%22 |title=The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography: An International Reference Work |year=1973 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=9780070796331 |accessdate=24 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404085605/https://books.google.com/books?id=nktsAAAAIAAJ&q=%22founder+of+the+north+atlantic+treaty%22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-098967, Aufnahme der Bundesrepublik in die NATO.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|[[West Germany]] joined NATO in 1955, which led to the formation of the rival [[Warsaw Pact]] during the [[Cold War]].|alt=A long rectangular room with multiple rows of seated individuals on each side, and flags hanging at the far end.]]

The North Atlantic Treaty was largely dormant until the [[Korean War]] initiated the establishment of NATO to implement it with an integrated military structure. This included the formation of [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]] (SHAPE) in 1951, which adopted many of the Western Union's military structures and plans,<ref name=pace>{{cite web |url= http://archives.nato.int/nato-first-5-years-1949-1954-by-lord-ismay-secretary-general-of-north-atlantic-treaty-organization;isad |title= NATO the first five years 1949–1954 |first= Hastings |last= Ismay |author-link= Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay |publisher= NATO |date= 4 September 2001 |access-date= 10 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170315234941/http://archives.nato.int/nato-first-5-years-1949-1954-by-lord-ismay-secretary-general-of-north-atlantic-treaty-organization%3Bisad |archive-date= 15 March 2017 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> including their [[Standardization Agreement|agreements on standardizing equipment]] and [[Status of forces agreement|agreements on stationing foreign military forces]] in European countries. In 1952, the post of [[Secretary General of NATO]] was established as the organization's chief civilian. That year also saw the first major NATO [[Military exercise|maritime exercises]], [[Exercise Mainbrace]] and the accession of [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]] to the organization.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baldwin |first=Hanson |date=28 September 1952 |title=Navies Meet the Test in Operation Mainbrace |journal=New York Times |page=E7 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/09/28/archives/navies-meet-the-test-in-operation-mainbrace-important-role-in.html |access-date=10 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010140743/http://www.nytimes.com/1952/09/28/archives/navies-meet-the-test-in-operation-mainbrace-important-role-in.html |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816183,00.html |title= NATO: The Man with the Oilcan |date= 24 March 1952 |access-date= 17 January 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120108012303/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816183,00.html |archive-date= 8 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Following the [[London and Paris Conferences]], [[West Germany]] was permitted to rearm militarily, as they joined NATO in May 1955, which was, in turn, a major factor in the creation of the Soviet-dominated [[Warsaw Pact]], delineating the two opposing sides of the [[Cold War]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/this-day-in-politics-106640 |title= Soviet Union establishes Warsaw Pact, May 14, 1955 |website= Politico |first= Andrew |last= Glass |date= 14 May 2014 |access-date= 10 June 2022 |archive-date= 24 September 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220924060153/https://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/this-day-in-politics-106640 |url-status= live }}</ref>

The building of the [[Berlin Wall]] in 1961 marked a height in Cold War tensions, when 400,000&nbsp;US troops were stationed in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/should-united-states-keep-troops-germany |title= Should the United States Keep Troops in Germany? |first= Dan |last= Olmsted |date= September 2020 |access-date= 22 February 2021 |website= National WW2 Museum |archive-date= 25 January 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210125212146/https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/should-united-states-keep-troops-germany |url-status= live }}</ref> Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion – doubts that led to the development of the [[Strike Force (France)|independent French nuclear deterrent]] and the withdrawal of [[France]] from NATO's military structure in 1966.{{sfn|van der Eyden|2003|pp=104–106}}<ref name="WP-France">{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031100547.html |title=After 43 Years, France to Rejoin NATO as Full Member |date=12 March 2009 |first=Edward |last=Cody |access-date=19 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026171515/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031100547.html |archive-date=26 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1982, the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/spain/88.htm|title=Spain and NATO|access-date=10 April 2021|website=Country Studies US |publisher=Source: U.S. Library of Congress|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415105730/http://countrystudies.us/spain/88.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Berlin Wall at NATO Headquarters.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|The [[Fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989 marked a turning point in NATO's role in Europe, and a section of that wall is displayed outside [[NATO headquarters]].|alt=Two tall concrete sections of a wall in a grass lawn in front of a curved building with blue-glass windows.]]

The [[Revolutions of 1989]] in Europe led to a strategic re-evaluation of NATO's purpose, nature, tasks, and focus on the continent. In October 1990, [[East Germany]] [[German reunification|became part of the Federal Republic of Germany]] and the alliance, and in November 1990, the alliance signed the [[Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe]] (CFE) in Paris with the Soviet Union. It mandated specific military reductions across the continent, which continued after the collapse of the [[Warsaw Pact]] in February 1991 and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] that December, which removed the ''de facto'' main adversaries of NATO.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/15/russia.nato |title= Kremlin tears up arms pact with Nato |first= Luke |last= Harding |work= The Observer |date= 14 July 2007 |access-date= 1 May 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130831182652/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/15/russia.nato |archive-date= 31 August 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> This began a drawdown of military spending and equipment in Europe. The CFE treaty allowed signatories to remove 52,000&nbsp;pieces of conventional armaments in the following sixteen years,<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheet/cfe |title= The Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and the Adapted CFE Treaty at a Glance |date= August 2017 |first= Daryl |last= Kimball |website= Arms Control Association |access-date= 22 February 2021 |archive-date= 24 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210224222245/https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheet/cfe |url-status= live }}</ref> and allowed military spending by NATO's European members to decline by 28 percent from 1990 to 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/09/02/politics-of-2-percent-nato-and-security-vacuum-in-europe-pub-61139 |title= The Politics of 2 Percent: NATO and the Security Vacuum in Europe |first= Jan |last= Techau |date= 2 September 2015 |website= Carnegie Europe |access-date= 22 February 2021 |archive-date= 23 September 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180923231851/http://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/09/02/politics-of-2-percent-nato-and-security-vacuum-in-europe-pub-61139 |url-status= live }}</ref> In 1990, several Western leaders gave assurances to [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] that NATO would not expand further east, as revealed by memoranda of private conversations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eichler |first1=Jan |title=NATO's Expansion After the Cold War: Geopolitics and Impacts for International Security |date=2021 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=9783030666415 |pages=34, 35}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early|title=Declassified documents show security assurances against NATO expansion to Soviet leaders from Baker, Bush, Genscher, Kohl, Gates, Mitterrand, Thatcher, Hurd, Major, and Woerner|date=12 December 2017|website=|publisher=National Security Archive|url-status=live|archive-date=23 December 2019|access-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223011430/https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Klaus |last=Wiegrefe |url=https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/nato-osterweiterung-aktenfund-stuetzt-russische-version-a-1613d467-bd72-4f02-8e16-2cd6d3285295 |title=Neuer Aktenfund von 1991 stützt russischen Vorwurf |publisher=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=18 February 2022 |access-date=3 March 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303104526/https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/nato-osterweiterung-aktenfund-stuetzt-russische-version-a-1613d467-bd72-4f02-8e16-2cd6d3285295 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Baker |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/us/politics/russia-ukraine-james-baker.html |title=In Ukraine Conflict, Putin Relies on a Promise That Ultimately Wasn't |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 January 2022 |access-date=3 March 2022 |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301223355/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/us/politics/russia-ukraine-james-baker.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In a later interview, Gorbachev stated that an expansion of NATO was not discussed at the time, and that talks were about stationing NATO troops in former [[East Germany]].<ref name="i752">{{cite web |last=Kórshunov |first=Maxim |date=2014-10-16 |title=Mikhail Gorbachev: I am against all walls |url=https://www.rbth.com/international/2014/10/16/mikhail_gorbachev_i_am_against_all_walls_40673.html |access-date=2026-04-24 |website=Russia Beyond}}</ref>

In the 1990s, the organization extended its activities into political and humanitarian situations that had not formerly been NATO concerns.<ref name=rfe>{{cite news |url= https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-announces-special-summit-in-london-in-december/29754567.html |title= NATO Announces Special 70th Anniversary Summit In London In December |website= Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date= 6 February 2019 |access-date= 6 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190406165903/https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-announces-special-summit-in-london-in-december/29754567.html |archive-date= 6 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]], the organization conducted its first [[List of NATO operations|military interventions]] in [[NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia from 1992 to 1995]] and later [[1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia in 1999]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.uri.edu/iaics/files/16-Jing-Ke.pdf|title=Did the US Media Reflect the Reality of the Kosovo War in an Objective Manner? A Case Study of The Washington Post and The Washington Times|author=Jing Ke|date=2008|website=University of Rhode Island|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323093720/https://web.uri.edu/iaics/files/16-Jing-Ke.pdf|archive-date=23 March 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Politically, the organization sought better relations with the newly autonomous [[Central and Eastern Europe]]an states, and diplomatic forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up during this post-Cold War period, including the [[Partnership for Peace]] and the [[Mediterranean Dialogue]] initiative in 1994, the [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council]] in 1997, and the [[NATO–Russia relations|NATO–Russia Permanent Joint Council]] in 1998. At the [[1999 Washington summit]], [[Hungary]], [[Poland]], and the [[Czech Republic]] officially joined NATO, and the organization also issued new guidelines for membership with individualized "[[Membership Action Plan]]s". These plans governed the subsequent addition of new alliance members.<ref>{{cite web|title=Relations with the Republic of North Macedonia (Archived)|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48830.htm|access-date=16 February 2022|website=NATO|language=en|archive-date=10 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310022112/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48830.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:NATO meeting in Washington - 2024.jpg|thumb|left|Group photo at [[2024 Washington summit|75th anniversary summit]] in Washington D.C., 2024]]

[[s:North Atlantic Treaty#Article 5|Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty]], requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the only time after the [[September 11 attacks]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Invocation of Article 5 confirmed |url=http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |date=3 October 2001 |publisher=North Atlantic Treaty Organization |access-date=29 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230143558/http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |archive-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> after which troops were deployed to [[Afghanistan]] under the NATO-led [[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]]. The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending [[NATO Training Mission – Iraq|trainers to Iraq]], assisting in [[Operation Ocean Shield|counter-piracy operations]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Counter-piracy operations |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48815.htm |work=North Atlantic Treaty Organization |access-date=27 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526115212/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48815.htm |archive-date=26 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The election of French president [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] in 2007 led to a major reform of France's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on 4 April 2009, which also included France rejoining the [[NATO Military Command Structure]], while maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent.<ref name=WP-France/><ref name="guardian-france">{{cite news |title=Sarkozy military plan unveiled |last=Stratton |first=Allegra |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/17/france.military |work=The Guardian |location=UK |date=17 June 2008 |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307184804/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/17/france.military |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DPC">{{cite web | url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49201.htm | title=Defence Planning Committee (DPC) (Archived) | publisher=NATO | date=11 November 2014 | access-date=13 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222165648/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49201.htm | archive-date=22 December 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Nato awacs.jpg|thumb|NATO [[E-3 Sentry|E-3A]] flying with [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]]s in a NATO exercise]]

The 2014 [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|Russian annexation of Crimea]] led to strong condemnation by all NATO members,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_107716.htm |title= Statement by the North Atlantic Council following meeting under article 4 of the Washington Treaty |work= NATO Newsroom |date= 4 March 2014 |access-date= 2 April 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140310182356/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_107716.htm |archive-date= 10 March 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was one of the seven times that [[North Atlantic Treaty#Article 4|Article 4]], which calls for consultation among NATO members, has been invoked. Prior times included during the [[Iraq War]] and [[Syrian civil war]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49187.htm |title= The consultation process and Article 4 |website= NATO |date= 24 February 2022 |access-date= 3 April 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220402192427/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49187.htm |archive-date= 2 April 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the [[2014 Wales summit]], the leaders of NATO's member states formally committed for the first time to spend the equivalent of at least two percent of their [[gross domestic product]]s on defence by 2024, which had previously been only an informal guideline.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Techau | first1=Jan | title=The Politics of 2 Percent: NATO and the Security Vacuum in Europe | url=http://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/09/02/politics-of-2-percent-nato-and-security-vacuum-in-europe-pub-61139 | date=2 September 2015 | publisher=[[Carnegie Europe]] | quote=A month before [the alliance's summit in Riga in 2006], Victoria Nuland, then the U.S. ambassador to NATO, called the 2 percent metric the "unofficial floor" on defence spending in NATO. But never had all governments of NATO's 28 nations officially embraced it at the highest possible political level – a summit declaration. | access-date=11 July 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712221337/https://carnegieeurope.eu/2015/09/02/politics-of-2-percent-nato-and-security-vacuum-in-europe-pub-61139 | archive-date=12 July 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:FLEET-20240311-XE0146-010.jpg|thumb|[[Steadfast Defender 2024|Steadfast Defender 24]] was the largest NATO exercise since the [[Cold War (1985–1991)|end of the Cold War]].]]

At the [[2016 Warsaw summit]], NATO countries agreed on the creation of [[NATO Enhanced Forward Presence]], which deployed four multinational battalion-sized battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.<ref name="EFP">{{cite web |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_136388.htm |title=NATO's military presence in the east of the Alliance |website=NATO |date=28 March 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331223713/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_136388.htm |archive-date=31 March 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Before and during the [[Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)|Russo-Ukrainian war]], several NATO countries sent ground troops, warships and fighter aircraft to reinforce the alliance's eastern flank, and multiple countries again invoked Article 4.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/11/us-sending-3000-more-troops-to-poland-00008357 |title=U.S. sending 3,000 more troops to Poland amid fresh Ukraine invasion warnings |last1=McLeary |first1=Paul |last2=Toosi |first2=Nahal |website=Politico |date=11 February 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222062321/https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/11/us-sending-3000-more-troops-to-poland-00008357 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/spain-sends-warships-black-sea-considers-sending-warplanes-2022-01-20/ |title=Spain sends warships to Black Sea, considers sending warplanes |website=Reuters |date=21 January 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=22 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122113343/https://www.reuters.com/world/spain-sends-warships-black-sea-considers-sending-warplanes-2022-01-20/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-will-send-four-fighter-jets-130-troops-bulgaria-2022-02-09/ |title=Spain will send four fighter jets and 130 troops to Bulgaria |website=Reuters |date=9 February 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214180335/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spain-will-send-four-fighter-jets-130-troops-bulgaria-2022-02-09/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2022, NATO leaders met at Brussels for an [[2022 Brussels summit|extraordinary summit]] which also involved [[Group of Seven]] and European Union leaders.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dw.com/en/nato-g7-eu-leaders-display-unity-avoid-confrontation-with-russia/a-61259981 |title=NATO, G7, EU leaders display unity, avoid confrontation with Russia |website=Deutsche Welle |date=25 March 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403082458/https://www.dw.com/en/nato-g7-eu-leaders-display-unity-avoid-confrontation-with-russia/a-61259981 |url-status=live }}</ref> NATO member states agreed to establish four additional battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia,<ref name="EFP"/> and elements of the [[NATO Response Force]] were activated for the first time in NATO's history.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.axios.com/nato-kremlin-russian-invasion-ukraine-0872be5e-b5e0-486b-b356-2985370e5148.html |title=NATO Response Force deploys for first time |last=Gonzalez |first=Oriana |website=Axios |date=26 February 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320114915/https://www.axios.com/nato-kremlin-russian-invasion-ukraine-0872be5e-b5e0-486b-b356-2985370e5148.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of June 2022, NATO had deployed 40,000 troops along its {{convert|2,500|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|-1}} Eastern flank to deter Russian aggression. More than half of this number have been deployed in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, which five countries muster a considerable combined ex-NATO force of 259,000 troops. To supplement Bulgaria's Air Force, Spain sent [[Eurofighter Typhoon]]s, the Netherlands sent eight [[Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II|F-35]] attack aircraft, and additional French and US attack aircraft would arrive soon as well.<ref name="birn14.6">{{cite news |title=NATO BOOSTS FORCES IN EAST TO DETER RUSSIAN MENACE |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2022/06/14/nato-boosts-forces-in-east-to-deter-russian-menace/ |work=BIRN |agency=Balkan Investigative Reporting Network |publisher=Balkan Insight |date=14 June 2022 |access-date=15 June 2022 |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615152556/https://balkaninsight.com/2022/06/14/nato-boosts-forces-in-east-to-deter-russian-menace/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2025, Germany stationed a full armoured brigade in Lithuania.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Germany is building a big scary army |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/06/04/germany-is-building-a-big-scary-army |access-date=2025-06-08 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

Since 2024, NATO faced an unprecedented rift between the United States and the majority of other NATO members, as US president [[Donald Trump]] repeatedly threatened the sovereignty of two founding members, [[Canada]] and [[Kingdom of Denmark|Denmark]], in its reiterating [[Movements for the annexation of Canada to the United States#Proposals to annex Canada by Donald Trump|proposals of Canadian absorption to the United States]] and in the [[Greenland crisis]], respectively, and in wider deterioration of [[United States–European Union relations|United States–European Union]] and [[Canada–United States relations]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Satta |first=Marianna |date=2026-01-18 |title=The Greenland Fracture: Strategic Divergence and the De-coherence of the North Atlantic Alliance |url=https://atlasinstitute.org/the-greenland-fracture-strategic-divergence-and-the-de-coherence-of-the-north-atlantic-alliance/ |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=Atlas Institute for International Affairs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-17 |title=When Allies Become Threats: What U.S. Pressure on Greenland Reveals about NATO’s Fragility and Canada’s Arctic Vulnerability |url=https://natoassociation.ca/when-allies-become-threats-what-u-s-pressure-on-greenland-reveals-about-natos-fragility-and-canadas-arctic-vulnerability/ |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=NAOC |language=en-CA}}</ref> In March 2026, Trump called NATO allies cowards for refusing calls to help reopen the [[Strait of Hormuz]] during the [[2026 Israeli–United States strikes on Iran]], and described the alliance as ineffective without the U.S.<ref name=guardian-20260320>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/20/uk-ministers-begin-contingency-planning-amid-fears-for-economic-effects-of-iran-war |title=UK ministers begin contingency planning amid economic fears over Iran war |last1=Mason |first1=Rowena |last2=Stewart |first2=Heather |last3=Topham |first3=Gwyn |last4=Elgot |first4=Jessica |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 March 2026 |access-date=20 March 2026}}</ref><ref name=reuters-20260320>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-calls-nato-cowards-over-lack-support-iran-war-2026-03-20/ |title=Trump calls NATO cowards over lack of support in Iran war |last=Chiacu |first=Doina |publisher=Reuters |url-access=limited |date=20 March 2026 |access-date=20 March 2026}}</ref>

==Military operations==
{{Main|List of NATO operations}}

===Early operations===
No military operations were conducted by NATO during the Cold War. Following the end of the Cold War, the first operations, ''Anchor Guard'' in 1990 and ''Ace Guard'' in 1991, were prompted by the [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait]]. Airborne early warning aircraft were sent to provide coverage of southeastern Turkey, and later a quick-reaction force was deployed to the area.<ref name="NATO Operations">{{cite web | url=http://www.aco.nato.int/resources/21/NATO%20Operations,%201949-Present.pdf | title=NATO's Operations 1949–Present | publisher=NATO | year=2009 | access-date=3 March 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301231459/http://www.aco.nato.int/resources/21/NATO%20Operations,%201949-Present.pdf | archive-date=1 March 2013 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Bosnia and Herzegovina intervention===
{{Main|NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}

[[File:F-16 deliberate force.JPG|thumb|upright=1.0|right|A USAF aircraft landing during [[Operation Deliberate Force]] after the [[Srebrenica massacre]]|alt=A fighter jet with AV marked on its tail takes off from a mountain runway.]]

The [[Bosnian War]] began in 1992, as a result of the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]]. The deteriorating situation led to [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 816]] on 9 October 1992, authorizing its member-states to enforce a previously declared [[no-fly zone]] under the [[United Nations Protection Force]] over central Bosnia and Herzegovina. NATO complied and started enforcing the ban on 12 April 1993 with [[Operation Deny Flight]]. From June 1993 until October 1996, [[Operation Sharp Guard]] added maritime enforcement of the [[arms embargo]] and [[economic sanctions]] against the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]. On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first wartime action by [[Banja Luka incident|shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft]] violating the no-fly zone.{{sfn|Zenko|2010|pp=133–134}}

On 10 and 11 April 1994, the United Nations Protection Force called in air strikes to protect the [[Goražde]] safe area, resulting in the bombing of a Bosnian Serb military command outpost near Goražde by two US [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]] jets acting under NATO direction.{{sfn|Zenko|2010|p=134}} In retaliation, Serbs took 150&nbsp;U.N. personnel hostage on 14 April.<ref>{{citation|title=NATO Handbook: Evolution of the Conflict|publisher=NATO|url=http://www.nato.int/docu/handbook/2001/hb050102.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011107101023/http://www.nato.int/docu/handbook/2001/hb050102.htm|archive-date=7 November 2001 }}</ref><ref>UN Document [https://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/54/549 A/54/549], Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly resolution 53/35: The fall of Srebrenica, un.org, {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912110426/http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A%2F54%2F549 |date=12 September 2009}}, accessed 25 April 2015.</ref> On 16 April a British [[British Aerospace Sea Harrier|Sea Harrier]] was shot down over Goražde by Serb forces.{{sfn|Bethlehem|Weller|1997|p=liiv}}

In August 1995, a two-week NATO bombing campaign, [[1995 NATO bombing campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Operation Deliberate Force]], began against the [[Army of the Republika Srpska]], after the [[Srebrenica massacre|Srebrenica genocide]].<ref name=zenko137>{{harvnb|Zenko|2010|pp=137–138}}</ref> Further NATO air strikes helped bring the [[Yugoslav Wars]] to an end, resulting in the [[Dayton Agreement]] in November 1995.<ref name=zenko137/> As part of this agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated peacekeeping force, under [[Operation Joint Endeavor]], named [[IFOR]]. Almost 60,000 NATO troops were joined by forces from non-NATO countries in this peacekeeping mission. This transitioned into the smaller [[SFOR]], which started with 32,000 troops initially and ran from December 1996 until December 2004, when operations were then passed onto the [[Operation Althea|European Union Force Althea]].{{sfn|Clausson|2006|pp=94–97}} Following the lead of its member states, NATO began to award a service medal, the [[NATO Medal]], for these operations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/02/army_natomedal_022209w/ |url-status=dead |title=Thousands more now eligible for NATO Medal |work=[[Army Times]] |first=Jim |last=Tice |date=22 February 2009 |access-date=11 April 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Kosovo intervention===
{{Main|NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|Kosovo Force|l2 = KFOR}}

[[File:German KFOR troops patrol southern Kosovo, summer 1999.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|German [[Kosovo Force|KFOR]] soldiers on patrol in southern Kosovo in 1999|alt=Three trucks of soldiers idle on a country road in front of trees and red-roofed houses. The rear truck has KFOR painted on is back.]]
[[File:MSU Mitrovica Manbox - Ibar Bridge summer 2019.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[Kosovo Force|KFOR]]-[[Multinational Specialized Unit|MSU]] [[Carabinieri]] Patrols in front of the [[New Bridge, Mitrovica|Ibar Bridge]] in [[Mitrovica, Kosovo]], 2019]]

In an effort to stop [[Slobodan Milošević]]'s Serbian-led crackdown on [[Kosovo Liberation Army|KLA]] separatists and Albanian civilians in [[Kosovo]], the [[United Nations Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1199|Resolution 1199]] on 23 September 1998 to demand a ceasefire.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Crossette |first=Barbara |date=24 September 1998 |title=Security Council tells Serbs to stop Kosovo offensive |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/24/world/security-council-tells-serbs-to-stop-kosovo-offensive.html |access-date=5 April 2025 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Negotiations under US Special Envoy [[Richard Holbrooke]] broke down on 23 March 1999, and he handed the matter to NATO,<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/302265.stm |title= Nato to strike Yugoslavia |work= BBC News |date= 24 March 1999 |access-date= 25 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150926010110/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/302265.stm |archive-date= 26 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> which acted on protecting regional security and started a 78-day bombing campaign on 24 March 1999.<ref>{{cite news |title= UN Kosovo mission walks a tightrope |date= 24 March 2004 |work= BBC News |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3565799.stm |first= Nick |last= Thorpe |access-date= 11 April 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120726190617/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3565799.stm |archive-date= 26 July 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Operation Allied Force targeted the military capabilities of what was then the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]. During the crisis, NATO also deployed one of its international reaction forces, the [[ACE Mobile Force (Land)]], to Albania as the Albania Force (AFOR), to deliver humanitarian aid to refugees from Kosovo.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.unhcr.org/africa/sites/afr/files/legacy-pdf/3ba0bbeb4.pdf |title= The Kosovo refugee crisis |website= United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |date= 19 December 2005 |accessdate= 23 July 2023 |archive-date= 23 July 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230723203620/https://www.unhcr.org/africa/sites/afr/files/legacy-pdf/3ba0bbeb4.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref>

The campaign was and has been criticized over [[Civilian casualties during Operation Allied Force|its civilian casualties]], including the bombing of the [[U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade|Chinese embassy in Belgrade]], and over [[Legitimacy of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|whether it had legitimacy]]. The US, the UK, and most other NATO countries opposed efforts to require the UN Security Council to approve NATO military strikes, such as the action against Serbia in 1999, while France and some others{{specify|reason=Which others?|date=September 2025}} claimed that the alliance needed UN approval.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9904/24/nato.un/ |title= NATO reaffirms power to take action without UN approval |work= [[CNN]] |date= 24 April 1999 |access-date= 4 September 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150128045422/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9904/24/nato.un/ |archive-date= 28 January 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The US/UK side claimed that this would undermine the authority of the alliance, and they noted that Russia and China would have exercised their Security Council vetoes to block the strike on [[Yugoslavia]], and could do the same in future conflicts where NATO intervention was required, thus nullifying the entire potency and purpose of the organization. Recognizing the post-Cold War military environment, NATO adopted the Alliance Strategic Concept during its [[1999 Washington summit|Washington summit]] in April 1999 that emphasized conflict prevention and crisis management.<ref name="nato.int">{{cite web |url= http://www.nato.int/docu/handbook/2001/hb120704.htm |title= Allied Command Atlantic |access-date=3 September 2008 |work=NATO Handbook |publisher=NATO |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813225955/http://www.nato.int/docu/handbook/2001/hb120704.htm <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=13 August 2008}}</ref>

Milošević finally accepted the terms of an international peace plan on 3 June 1999, ending the [[Kosovo War]]. On 11 June, Milošević further accepted [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244|UN resolution 1244]], under the mandate of which NATO then helped establish the [[Kosovo Force|KFOR]] peacekeeping force. Nearly one million refugees had fled Kosovo, and part of KFOR's mandate was to protect the humanitarian missions, in addition to deterring violence.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2000/kosovo-report-card.aspx |title= Kosovo Report Card |date= 28 August 2000 |work= [[International Crisis Group]] |access-date= 11 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120304114736/http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2000/kosovo-report-card.aspx |archive-date= 4 March 2012 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> In August–September 2001, the alliance also mounted [[Operation Essential Harvest]], a mission disarming ethnic Albanian militias in the Republic of Macedonia.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/macedonia/1357773/Macedonia-mission-a-success-says-Nato.html |title= Macedonia mission a success, says Nato |work= The Daily Telegraph |first= Toby |last= Helm |date= 27 September 2001 |access-date= 11 April 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120905212636/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/macedonia/1357773/Macedonia-mission-a-success-says-Nato.html |archive-date= 5 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{as of|2023}}, around 4,500&nbsp;KFOR soldiers, representing 27&nbsp;countries, continue to operate in the area.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48818.htm |title= NATO's role in Kosovo |publisher= NATO |date= 10 July 2023 |access-date= 23 July 2023 |archive-date= 26 June 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230626155525/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48818.htm |url-status= live }}</ref>

===War in Afghanistan===
{{Main|International Security Assistance Force|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|l2 = War in Afghanistan}} 

The [[September 11 attacks]] in the United States caused NATO to invoke [[NATO Article 5|Article 5]] of the NATO Charter for the first time in the organization's history.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1057/s42738-021-00067-0|title=Creating common sense: Getting NATO to Afghanistan|year=2021|last1=Münch|first1=Philipp|journal=Journal of Transatlantic Studies|volume=19|issue=2|pages=138–166|doi-access=free | issn = 1479-4012 }}</ref> The Article states that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The invocation was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |title=NATO Update: Invocation of Article 5 confirmed |date=2 October 2001 |publisher=NATO |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825031521/http://www.nato.int/docu/update/2001/1001/e1002a.htm |archive-date=25 August 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> The eight official actions taken by NATO in response to the attacks included [[Operation Eagle Assist]] and [[Operation Active Endeavour]], a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and to enhance the security of shipping in general, which began on 4 October 2001.<ref name="NATO Operations"/>

The alliance showed unity: on 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF), which included troops from 42 countries. The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two countries leading ISAF at the time of the agreement, and all nineteen NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked the first time in NATO's history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2003/8/11/nato-takes-historic-step-into-afghanistan |title= NATO takes historic step into Afghanistan |website= Al Jazeera |agency= Reuters |date= 11 August 2003 |accessdate= 23 July 2023 |archive-date= 23 July 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230723205859/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2003/8/11/nato-takes-historic-step-into-afghanistan |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[File:210321-D-BN624-1005 (51058690203).jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|General [[Austin S. Miller]] (right) became commander of U.S. and [[Resolute Support Mission|NATO forces]] in Afghanistan in September 2018 and oversaw the [[Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2020–2021)|withdrawal]] until July 2021. [[Lloyd Austin]], the 28th [[United States Secretary of Defense]], is on the left.]]

ISAF was initially charged with securing [[Kabul]] and surrounding areas from the [[Taliban]], [[al-Qaeda]] and factional warlords, so as to allow for the establishment of the [[Afghan Transitional Administration]] headed by [[Hamid Karzai]]. In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/isaf/topics/mandate/unscr/resolution_1510.pdf |title=UNSC Resolution 1510, October 13, 2003 |access-date=5 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009021301/http://www.nato.int/isaf/topics/mandate/unscr/resolution_1510.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country.<ref name="ISAF Chronology">{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/isaf/topics/chronology/index.html |title=ISAF Chronology |publisher=NATO |access-date=5 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113041055/http://www.nato.int/isaf/topics/chronology/index.html |archive-date=13 November 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 31 July 2006, the ISAF additionally took over [[Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2006|military operations in the south of Afghanistan]] from a US-led anti-terrorism coalition.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a1qU01AKOHT8 |title=NATO Takes Control of East Afghanistan From U.S.-Led Coalition |first=Alex |last=Morales |date=5 October 2006 |access-date=4 September 2013 |work=[[Bloomberg L.P.]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724142511/https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a1qU01AKOHT8 |archive-date=24 July 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Due to the intensity of the fighting in the south, in 2011 France allowed a squadron of [[Dassault Mirage 2000|Mirage 2000]] fighter/attack aircraft to be moved into the area, to [[Kandahar International Airport|Kandahar]], in order to reinforce the alliance's efforts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=1002456&clef=ARC-TRK-NC_01 |title=La France et l'OTAN |work=Le Monde |language=fr |location=France |access-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012175557/http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=1002456&clef=ARC-TRK-NC_01 |archive-date=12 October 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> During its [[2012 Chicago Summit]], NATO endorsed a plan to end the Afghanistan war and to remove the NATO-led ISAF Forces by the end of December 2014.<ref name="Reuters 20120521">{{cite news|title=NATO sets "irreversible" but risky course to end Afghan war|url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE84J02C20120521?sp=true|newspaper=Reuters|agency=Reuters|access-date=22 May 2012|date=21 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022162349/http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE84J02C20120521?sp=true|archive-date=22 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> ISAF was disestablished in December 2014 and replaced by the follow-on training [[Resolute Support Mission]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/28/nato-ends-afghanistan-combat-operations-after-13-years|title=Nato ends combat operations in Afghanistan|last=Rasmussen|first=Sune Engel|date=28 December 2014|work=The Guardian|access-date=24 October 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=2 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102134349/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/28/nato-ends-afghanistan-combat-operations-after-13-years|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 14 April 2021, NATO Secretary General [[Jens Stoltenberg]] said the alliance had agreed to start [[Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2020–2021)|withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan]] by 1 May.<ref>{{cite news |title=NATO to Cut Forces in Afghanistan, Match US Withdrawal |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/usa_nato-cut-forces-afghanistan-match-us-withdrawal/6204555.html |work=[[VOA News]] |date=14 April 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415000426/https://www.voanews.com/usa/nato-cut-forces-afghanistan-match-us-withdrawal |url-status=live }}</ref> Soon after the withdrawal of NATO troops started, the Taliban launched an [[2021 Taliban offensive|offensive against the Afghan government]], quickly advancing in front of collapsing [[Afghan Armed Forces]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Afghanistan stunned by scale and speed of security forces' collapse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/afghanistan-stunned-by-scale-and-speed-of-security-forces-collapse |work=The Guardian |date=13 July 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815063215/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/afghanistan-stunned-by-scale-and-speed-of-security-forces-collapse |first=Emma |last=Graham-Harrison |url-status=live }}</ref> By 15 August 2021, Taliban militants controlled the vast majority of Afghanistan and had encircled the capital city of [[Kabul]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Taliban surge in Afghanistan: EU and NATO in state of shock |url=https://www.dw.com/en/taliban-surge-in-afghanistan-eu-and-nato-in-state-of-shock/a-58881129 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=16 August 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817130423/https://www.dw.com/en/taliban-surge-in-afghanistan-eu-and-nato-in-state-of-shock/a-58881129 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some politicians in NATO member states have described the chaotic withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan and the [[Fall of Kabul (2021)|collapse of the Afghan government]] as the greatest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding.<ref>{{cite news |title=Afghanistan takeover sparks concern from NATO allies |url=https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-takeover-sparks-concern-from-nato-allies/a-58880292 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=16 August 2021 |access-date=19 August 2021 |archive-date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819073025/https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-takeover-sparks-concern-from-nato-allies/a-58880292 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Migration fears complicate Europe's response to Afghanistan crisis |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/afghanistan-crisis-migration-europe-response/ |work=Politico |date=16 August 2021 |access-date=19 August 2021 |archive-date=19 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819092700/https://www.politico.eu/article/afghanistan-crisis-migration-europe-response/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Iraq training mission===
{{Main|NATO Training Mission – Iraq}}

[[File:Armentani and Trujillo.jpg|thumb|Italian Major General Giovanni Armentani, Deputy Commanding General for the NATO Training Mission, meets with a U.S. Advise and Assist Brigade.]]

In August 2004, during the [[Iraq War]], NATO formed the [[NATO Training Mission – Iraq]], a training mission to assist the Iraqi security forces in conjunction with the US-led [[Multinational Force – Iraq|MNF-I]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jfcnaples.nato.int/training_mission_iraq.aspx|title=Official Website|website=Jfcnaples.nato.int|access-date=29 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111212165020/http://www.jfcnaples.nato.int/training_mission_iraq.aspx|archive-date=12 December 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> The NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) was established at the request of the [[Iraqi Interim Government]] under the provisions of [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546]]. The aim of NTM-I was to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions so that Iraq can build an effective and sustainable capability that addresses the needs of the country. NTM-I was not a combat mission but is a distinct mission, under the political control of the [[North Atlantic Council]]. Its operational emphasis was on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission were coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the US-led Deputy Commanding General Advising and Training, who was also dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-I. The mission officially concluded on 17 December 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-withdrawal-nato-idUSTRE7BG0IK20111217 |title= NATO closes up training mission in Iraq |work= Reuters |first= Rania |last= El Gamal |date= 17 December 2011 |access-date= 17 January 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111218070636/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/17/us-iraq-withdrawal-nato-idUSTRE7BG0IK20111217 |archive-date= 18 December 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Turkey invoked the first Article 4 meetings in 2003 at the start of the [[Iraq War]]. Turkey also invoked this article twice in 2012 during the [[Syrian civil war]], after the [[June 2012 interception of Turkish aircraft|downing]] of an unarmed Turkish [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4 reconnaissance jet]], and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-alliance-idUSBRE8921F220121003 |title= NATO demands halt to Syria aggression against Turkey |work= [[Reuters]] |first= Adrian |last= Croft |date= 3 October 2012 |access-date= 3 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121004011242/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/03/us-syria-crisis-alliance-idUSBRE8921F220121003 |archive-date= 4 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> and again in 2015 after threats by [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] to its territorial integrity.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/26/middleeast/turkey-nato-talks/index.html |title=Turkey calls for rare NATO talks after attacks along Syrian border |last1=Ford |first1=Dana |date=26 July 2015 |website=Cnn.com |publisher=CNN |access-date=26 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150727233434/http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/26/middleeast/turkey-nato-talks/index.html |archive-date=27 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Gulf of Aden anti-piracy===
{{Main|Operation Ocean Shield}}

[[File:Gulf of Aden - disabled pirate boat.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|{{USS|Farragut|DDG-99|6}} destroying a Somali pirate skiff in March 2010|alt=A tall plume of black smoke rises from the blue ocean waters next to a large grey battleship and a small black inflatable boat.]]

In 2008 the [[United Nations Secretary-General]] called on member-states to protect the ships of {{interlanguage link|Operation Allied Provider|de||no|Operasjon Allied Provider|ru|Операция «Эллайд Провайдер»|uk|Операція «Союзницький постачальник»}}, which was distributing aid as part of the [[World Food Programme]] mission in Somalia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 September 2014 |title=Operation Allied Provider |url=https://shape.nato.int/page13984631 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114050617/https://shape.nato.int/page13984631 |archive-date=14 November 2016 |access-date=4 April 2024 |website= |publisher=[[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]]}}</ref>

The [[North Atlantic Council]] and other countries, including Russia, China and South Korea,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manw.nato.int/page_operation_ocean_shield.aspx |title=Operation Ocean Shield |publisher=NATO |access-date=3 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513125123/http://www.manw.nato.int/page_operation_ocean_shield.aspx |archive-date=13 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.manw.nato.int/page_news_archive_OOS_%202010.aspx |title=2009 Operation Ocean Shield News Articles |publisher=NATO |date=October 2010 |access-date=19 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429152017/http://www.manw.nato.int/page_news_archive_OOS_%202010.aspx |archive-date=29 April 2011 }}</ref> formed [[Operation Ocean Shield]]. The operation sought to dissuade and interrupt pirate attacks, protect vessels, and to increase the general level of security in the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48815.htm |title=Operation Ocean Shield purpose |date=12 July 2016 |access-date=27 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913104750/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48815.htm |archive-date=13 September 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Beginning on 17 August 2009, NATO deployed warships in an operation to protect maritime traffic in the [[Gulf of Aden]] and the Indian Ocean from [[Piracy in Somalia|Somali pirates]], and help strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Counter-piracy operations (2008-2016) |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48815.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712003129/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48815.htm |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |access-date=August 8, 2024 |website=NATO}}</ref>

===Libya intervention===
{{Main|2011 military intervention in Libya}}

[[File:Palmaria bengasi 1903 0612 b1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|[[Libyan Army (1951–2011)|Libyan Army]] [[Palmaria (artillery)|Palmaria howitzers]] destroyed by the [[French Air and Space Force|French Air Force]] near [[Benghazi]] in March 2011|alt=Pieces of a destroyed tank, notably the gun turret, lie on a sandy landscape.]]

During the [[First Libyan Civil War|Libyan Civil War]], violence between protesters and the Libyan government under Colonel [[Muammar Gaddafi]] escalated, and on 17 March 2011 led to the passage of [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973]], which called for a ceasefire, and authorized military action to protect civilians.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 17, 2011 |title=Security Council Approves 'No-Fly Zone' over Libya, Authorizing 'All Necessary Measures' to Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions |url=https://press.un.org/en/2011/sc10200.doc.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709220438/https://press.un.org/en/2011/sc10200.doc.htm |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |access-date=August 8, 2024 |website=United Nations Meetings Coverage and Press Releases}}</ref> A coalition that included several NATO members began enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya shortly afterwards, beginning with [[Opération Harmattan]] by the [[French Air and Space Force|French Air Force]] on 19 March.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Anrig |first=Christian F. |date=2011 |title=Allied Air Power over Libya: A Preliminary Assessment |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/abb1b09c31ecadb5805d35846d29d18f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=26498 |journal=[[Air & Space Power Journal]] |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=1}}</ref>

On 20 March 2011, NATO states agreed on enforcing an arms embargo against Libya with [[Operation Unified Protector]] using ships from NATO [[Standing NRF Maritime Group 1|Standing Maritime Group&nbsp;1]] and [[Standing NRF Mine Countermeasures Group 1|Standing Mine Countermeasures Group&nbsp;1]],<ref name="NATOSecGen1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-E403D555-2A5EEC9A/natolive/news_71689.htm?mode=pressrelease|title=Statement by the NATO Secretary General on Libya arms embargo|publisher=NATO|date=22 March 2011|access-date=25 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428121505/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-E403D555-2A5EEC9A/natolive/news_71689.htm?mode=pressrelease|archive-date=28 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and additional ships and submarines from NATO members.<ref name="NATOPressBriefing1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-83A5384E-C37D94AC/natolive/opinions_71716.htm?selectedLocale=en|title=Press briefing by NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu, Brigadier General Pierre St-Amand, Canadian Air Force and General Massimo Panizzi, spokesperson of the Chairman of the Military Committee|publisher=NATO|date=23 March 2011|access-date=25 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428121332/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-83A5384E-C37D94AC/natolive/opinions_71716.htm?selectedLocale=en|archive-date=28 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> They would "monitor, report and, if needed, [[interdiction|interdict]] vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or [[mercenary|mercenaries]]".<ref name="NATOSecGen1"/>

On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone from the initial coalition, while command of targeting ground units remained with the coalition's forces.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-03-25/world/35208327_1_libya-operation-charles-bouchard-nato|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430140122/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/french-official-libya-campaign-will-likely-last-weeks/2011/03/25/AFNTJyVB_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 April 2011|title=NATO reaches deal to take over Libya operation; allied planes hit ground forces|date=25 March 2011|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/2011324221036894697.html|title=NATO to police Libya no-fly zone|website=English.aljazeera.net|date=24 March 2011|access-date=25 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326033949/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/2011324221036894697.html|archive-date=26 March 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> NATO began officially enforcing the UN resolution on 27 March 2011 with assistance from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=214574 |title= UAE and Qatar pack an Arab punch in Libya operation |work= Jerusalem Post |agency= se |first= Arieh |last= O'Sullivan |date= 31 March 2011 |access-date= 29 January 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121106134641/http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=214574 |archive-date= 6 November 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> By June, reports of divisions within the alliance surfaced as only eight of the 28 member states were participating in combat operations,<ref>[http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/9/worldupdates/2011-06-09T025953Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-575860-1&sec=Worldupdates "NATO strikes Tripoli, Gaddafi army close on Misrata"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812030653/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2011%2F6%2F9%2Fworldupdates%2F2011-06-09T025953Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-575860-1&sec=Worldupdates |date=12 August 2011 }}, Khaled al-Ramahi. ''Malaysia Star''. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011</ref> resulting in a confrontation between US Defense Secretary [[Robert Gates]] and countries such as Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Germany with Gates calling on the latter to contribute more and the latter believing the organization has overstepped its mandate in the conflict.<ref>Coughlin, Con (9 June 2011). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304259304576375293567474306?mod=googlenews_wsj "Political Gridlock at NATO"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010140850/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304259304576375293567474306?mod=googlenews_wsj |date=10 October 2017 }}, ''Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved 9 June 2011</ref><ref>[https://latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-nato-20110609,0,6023643.story "Gates Calls on NATO Allies to Do More in Libya"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314100915/https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2011-jun-09-la-fg-libya-nato-20110609-story.html |date=14 March 2022 }}, Jim Garamone. US Department of Defense. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011</ref><ref>Cloud, David S. (9 June 2011). [https://latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-nato-20110609,0,6023643.story "Gates calls for more NATO allies to join Libya air campaign"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314100911/https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2011-jun-09-la-fg-libya-nato-20110609-story.html |date=14 March 2022 }}, ''Los Angeles Times''. Retrieved 9 June 2011</ref> In his final policy speech in Brussels on 10 June, Gates further criticized allied countries in suggesting their actions could cause the demise of NATO.<ref>Burns, Robert (10 June 2011). [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/10/gates-blasts-nato-questions-future-alliance/?page=all "Gates blasts NATO, questions future of alliance"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105213305/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/10/gates-blasts-nato-questions-future-alliance/?page=all |date=5 November 2013 }}, ''Washington Times''. Retrieved 29 January 2013</ref> The German foreign ministry pointed to "a&nbsp;considerable [German] contribution to NATO and NATO-led operations" and to the fact that this engagement was highly valued by President Obama.<ref>Birnbaum, Michael (10 June 2011). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gates-rebukes-european-allies-in-farewell-speech/2011/06/10/AG9tKeOH_story.html "Gates rebukes European allies in farewell speech"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825192654/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gates-rebukes-european-allies-in-farewell-speech/2011/06/10/AG9tKeOH_story.html |date=25 August 2017 }}, ''Washington Post''. Retrieved 10 June 2011.</ref>

While the mission was extended into September, Norway that day (10 June) announced it would begin scaling down contributions and complete withdrawal by 1 August.<ref>Amland, Bjoern H. (10 June 2011). [https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-norway-to-quit-libya-operation-by-august-2011jun10-story.html "Norway to quit Libya operation by August"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411165833/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-norway-to-quit-libya-operation-by-august-2011jun10-story.html |date=11 April 2020 }}, Associated Press.</ref> Earlier that week it was reported [[Royal Danish Air Force|Danish air fighters]] were running out of bombs.<ref>[http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110610/world/Danish-planes-running-out-of-bombs.369868 "Danish planes running out of bombs"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612163628/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110610/world/Danish-planes-running-out-of-bombs.369868 |date=12 June 2011 }}, ''Times of Malta''. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011</ref><ref>[http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6770530&c=EUR&s=AIR "Danish Planes in Libya Running Out of Bombs: Report"], ''Defense News''. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011</ref> The following week, the head of the [[Royal Navy]] said the country's operations in the conflict were not sustainable.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8573849/Navy-chief-Britain-cannot-keep-up-its-role-in-Libya-air-war-due-to-cuts.html "Navy chief: Britain cannot keep up its role in Libya air war due to cuts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913110403/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8573849/Navy-chief-Britain-cannot-keep-up-its-role-in-Libya-air-war-due-to-cuts.html |date=13 September 2018 }}, James Kirkup. ''The Telegraph''. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2013</ref> By the end of the mission in October 2011, after the death of Colonel Gaddafi, NATO planes had flown about 9,500 strike sorties against pro-Gaddafi targets.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/10/11/NATO-surprised-by-pro-Gadhafi-resistance/UPI-62851318359224/ |title= NATO: Ongoing resistance by pro-Gadhafi forces in Libya is 'surprising' |newspaper= The Washington Post |agency= [[United Press International|UPI]] |date= 11 October 2011 |access-date= 29 January 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131016020425/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2011/10/11/NATO-surprised-by-pro-Gadhafi-resistance/UPI-62851318359224/ |archive-date= 16 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-10-21/Libya-NATO/50858104/1?csp=34news|title=NATO strategy in Libya may not work elsewhere |access-date=22 October 2011 | work=USA Today |date=21 October 2011}}</ref> A report from the organization [[Human Rights Watch]] in May 2012 identified at least 72 civilians killed in the campaign.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://world.time.com/2012/05/16/how-many-innocent-civilians-did-nato-kill-in-libya/ |title= How Many Innocent Civilians Did NATO Kill in Libya? |first= Ishaan |last= Tharoor |date= 16 May 2012 |access-date= 9 April 2016 |magazine= Time Magazine |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160401032328/http://world.time.com/2012/05/16/how-many-innocent-civilians-did-nato-kill-in-libya/ |archive-date= 1 April 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following a [[2013 Libyan coup d'état attempt|coup d'état attempt]] in October 2013, Libyan Prime Minister [[Ali Zeidan]] requested technical advice and trainers from NATO to assist with ongoing security issues.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-nato-idUSBRE99K0GX20131021 |title= NATO to advise Libya on strengthening security forces |work= Reuters |first= Adrian |last= Croft |access-date= 1 July 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150930090823/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/us-libya-nato-idUSBRE99K0GX20131021 |archive-date= 30 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Turkish border===
{{Main|Operation Active Fence}}

[[File:U-s-service-members-stand-by-a-patriot-missile-battery-in-gaziantep-turkey.jpg|thumb|U.S. and NATO Patriot missile batteries in Turkey]]

Use of [[North Atlantic Treaty#Article 5|Article 5]] has been threatened multiple times and four out of seven official [[North Atlantic Treaty (Article 4)|Article 4]] consultations have been called due to [[Spillover of the Syrian civil war#Turkey|spillover]] in Turkey from the [[Syrian civil war]]. In April 2012, Turkish Prime Minister [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] considered invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty to protect Turkish national security in a dispute over the Syrian civil war.<ref>[http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_pm-turkey-may-invoke-natos-article-5-over-syrian-border-fire_277185.html todayszaman.com: "PM: Turkey may invoke NATO's Article 5 over Syrian border fire"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626182142/http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_pm-turkey-may-invoke-natos-article-5-over-syrian-border-fire_277185.html |date=26 June 2015 }}, 11 April 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_observers-say-natos-fifth-charter-comes-into-play-if-clashes-with-syria-get-worse_277187.html todayszaman.com: "Observers say NATO's fifth charter comes into play if clashes with Syria get worse"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626180355/http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_observers-say-natos-fifth-charter-comes-into-play-if-clashes-with-syria-get-worse_277187.html |date=26 June 2015 }}, 11 April 2012</ref> The alliance responded quickly, and a spokesperson said the alliance was "monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to do so" and "takes it very seriously protecting its members."<ref>[http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_nato-says-monitoring-tension-in-turkey-syria-border_277247.html todayszaman.com: "NATO says monitoring tension in Turkey-Syria border"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626231647/http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_nato-says-monitoring-tension-in-turkey-syria-border_277247.html |date=26 June 2015 }}, 12 April 2012</ref>

After [[2012 Turkish F-4 Phantom shootdown|the shooting down of a Turkish military jet by Syria]] in June 2012 and [[Syrian–Turkish border clashes during the Syrian civil war#The 2 October 2012 incident and afterward|Syrian forces shelling Turkish cities]] in October 2012<ref name=art4>{{cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49187.htm|title=The consultation process and Article 4|website=NATO |date=24 February 2022|access-date=25 February 2022|archive-date=2 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402192427/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49187.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> resulting in two Article 4 consultations, NATO approved [[Operation Active Fence]]. In the past decade the conflict has only escalated. In response to the [[2015 Suruç bombing]], which Turkey attributed to [[ISIS]], and other security issues along its southern border,<ref name=dt26>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/11764178/Turkey-calls-for-Nato-meeting-to-discuss-Isil-and-PKK.html telegraph.co.uk: "Turkey calls for emergency Nato meeting to discuss Isil and PKK"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195051/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/11764178/Turkey-calls-for-Nato-meeting-to-discuss-Isil-and-PKK.html |date=16 October 2022 }}, 26 July 2015</ref><ref name="cnn july 2015 article 4">{{cite news | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/26/middleeast/turkey-nato-talks/ | title=Turkey calls for rare NATO talks after attacks along Syrian border | publisher=CNN | date=27 July 2015 | access-date=27 July 2015 | author=Ford, Dana | archive-date=16 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195052/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/26/middleeast/turkey-nato-talks/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=nyt27>{{Cite web |date=27 July 2015 |title=Turkey and U.S. Plan to Create Syria 'Safe Zone' Free of ISIS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/world/middleeast/turkey-and-us-agree-on-plan-to-clear-isis-from-strip-of-northern-syria.html |first1=Anne |last1=Barnard |first2=Michael R. |last2=Gordon |first3=Eric |last3=Schmitt |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016195051/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/world/middleeast/turkey-and-us-agree-on-plan-to-clear-isis-from-strip-of-northern-syria.html?_r=0 |archive-date=16 October 2022 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_121926.htm?selectedLocale=en |website=NATO |title=Statement by the North Atlantic Council following meeting under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty|date=28 July 2015|access-date=27 February 2022|archive-date=27 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227190355/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_121926.htm?selectedLocale=en|url-status=live}}</ref> Turkey called for [[2015 NATO emergency meeting|an emergency meeting]]. The latest consultation happened in February 2020, as part of increasing tensions due to the [[Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–present)|Northwestern Syria offensive]], which involved<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/russia-denies-involvement-in-airstrikes-on-turkish-troops-in-idlib|title=Russia denies involvement in airstrikes on Turkish troops in Idlib|website=[[Daily Sabah]]|date=28 February 2020|access-date=1 March 2022|archive-date=28 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228080529/https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/russia-denies-involvement-in-airstrikes-on-turkish-troops-in-idlib|url-status=live}}</ref> [[2020 Balyun airstrikes|Syrian and suspected Russian airstrikes on Turkish troops]], and risked direct confrontation between Russia and a NATO member.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tert.am/en/news/2020/02/29/idlib/3223514|title=Greece 'vetoes NATO statement' on support for Turkey amid Syria escalation|date=29 February 2020|access-date=1 March 2022|quote=The Russian military later explained that the Syrian army targeted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists operating in the province, adding that Syrian government forces were not informed about the Turkish presence in the area.|archive-date=3 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303074219/https://www.tert.am/en/news/2020/02/29/idlib/3223514|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Eastern flank===
{{Main|Operation Eastern Sentry}}

Operation Eastern Sentry is a NATO military initiative launched in response to [[2025 Russian drone incursion into Poland|Russian drone incursions]] into Polish airspace in September 2025.<ref>{{cite news | title=NATO launches 'Eastern Sentry' operation in response to Russian drone incursions |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/12/world/nato-operation-eastern-sentry-russia-poland-latam-intl |website=CNN |date=September 12, 2025 |publisher=CNN |access-date=September 15, 2025}}</ref> The operation aims to strengthen the alliance's [[Bucharest Nine|eastern flank]] and deter further aggression. Multiple member states are contributing military assets, including fighter jets and naval units, to enhance air and ground defense capabilities. Eastern Sentry is designed to provide a flexible and agile response to threats, with a focus on countering drone technology.

==Membership==
{{Main|Member states of NATO}}

The 32 NATO members are: 
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* {{Flagcountry|Albania}}
* {{Flagcountry|Belgium}}
* {{Flagcountry|Bulgaria}}
* {{Flagcountry|Canada}}
* {{Flagcountry|Croatia}}
* {{Flagcountry|Czech Republic}}
* {{Flagcountry|Denmark}}
* {{Flagcountry|Estonia}}
* {{Flagcountry|Finland}}
* {{Flagcountry|France}}
* {{Flagcountry|Germany}}
* {{Flagcountry|Greece}}
* {{Flagcountry|Hungary}}
* {{Flagcountry|Iceland}}
* {{Flagcountry|Italy}}
* {{Flagcountry|Latvia}}
* {{Flagcountry|Lithuania}}
* {{Flagcountry|Luxembourg}}
* {{Flagcountry|Montenegro}}
* {{Flagcountry|Netherlands}}
* {{Flagcountry|North Macedonia}}
* {{Flagcountry|Norway}}
* {{Flagcountry|Poland}}
* {{Flagcountry|Portugal}}
* {{Flagcountry|Romania}}
* {{Flagcountry|Slovakia}}
* {{Flagcountry|Slovenia}}
* {{Flagcountry|Spain}}
* {{Flagcountry|Sweden}}
* {{Flagcountry|Turkey}}
* {{Flagcountry|United Kingdom}}
* {{Flagcountry|United States}}
{{div col end}}

{| class="skin-nightmode-reset-color" style="background:white; color: inherit; border:1px solid rgb(153, 153, 153); margin: 1em auto 1em auto; overflow:auto; overflow-x:auto; overflow-y:hidden;"
|- style="text-align:center;"
|[[File:NATO partnerships.svg|960px|alt=A world map with countries in blue, cyan, orange, yellow, purple, and green, based on their NATO affiliation.]]
|- style="font-size:85%;"
|
{|class="wikitable collapsible collapsed skin-nightmode-reset-color" style="background:white; color:inherit; border:1px solid white;"
| style="border:0; width:2em;"|{{legend|#004990|outline=black}}
| style="border:0;"|'''[[Member states of NATO|NATO members]]'''&nbsp;
| style="border:0; width:2em;"|{{legend|#2a7fff|outline=black}}
| style="border:0;"|'''[[Membership Action Plan]]'''&nbsp;
| style="border:0; width:2em;"|{{legend|#88b7ff|outline=black}}
| style="border:0;"|'''Enhanced Opportunities Partners'''&nbsp;
| style="border:0; width:2em;"|{{legend|#ffd900|outline=black}}
| style="border:0;"|'''[[Individual Partnership Action Plan]]'''&nbsp;
| style="border:0; width:2em;"|{{legend|#ff7826|outline=black}}
| style="border:0;"|'''[[Partnership for Peace]]'''&nbsp;
| style="border:0; width:2em;"|{{legend|#d40000|outline=black}}
| style="border:0;"|'''[[Mediterranean Dialogue]]'''&nbsp;
| style="border:0; width:2em;"|{{legend|#cc00ff|outline=black}}
| style="border:0;"|'''[[Istanbul Cooperation Initiative]]'''&nbsp;
| style="border:0; width:2em;"|{{legend|#008000|outline=black}}
| style="border:0;"|'''[[NATO global partners|Global Partners]]'''
! style="border:0; width:3.6em;"|
|- valign="top"
| style="border:0;" colspan="2"|{{plainlist|
* [[Albania]]
* [[Belgium]]
* [[Bulgaria]]
* [[Canada]]
* [[Croatia]]
* [[Czech Republic]]
* [[Danish Realm|Denmark]]
* [[Estonia]]
* [[Finland]]
* [[France]]
* [[Germany]]
* [[Greece]]
* [[Hungary]]
* [[Iceland]]
* [[Italy]]
* [[Latvia]]
* [[Lithuania]]
* [[Luxembourg]]
* [[Montenegro]]
* [[Netherlands]]
* [[North Macedonia]]
* [[Norway]]
* [[Poland]]
* [[Portugal]]
* [[Romania]]
* [[Slovakia]]
* [[Slovenia]]
* [[Spain]]
* [[Sweden]]
* [[Turkey]]
* [[United Kingdom]]
* [[United States]]}}
| style="border:0;" colspan="2"|{{plainlist|
* [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]}}
| style="border:0;" colspan="2"|{{plainlist|
* [[Australia]]
* [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
* [[Jordan]]
* [[Ukraine]]}}
| style="border:0;" colspan="2"|{{plainlist|
* [[Armenia]]
* [[Azerbaijan]]
* [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
* [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
* [[Kazakhstan]]
* [[Moldova]]
* [[Serbia]]
* [[Ukraine]]}}
| style="border:0;" colspan="2"|{{plainlist|
* [[Armenia]]
* [[Austria]]
* [[Azerbaijan]]
* [[Belarus]] (suspended)
* [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
* [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
* [[Ireland]]
* [[Kazakhstan]]
* [[Kyrgyzstan]]
* [[Malta]]
* [[Moldova]]
* [[Russia]] (suspended)
* [[Serbia]]
* [[Switzerland]]
* [[Tajikistan]]
* [[Turkmenistan]]
* [[Ukraine]]
* [[Uzbekistan]]}}
| style="border:0;" colspan="2"|{{plainlist|
* [[Algeria]]
* [[Egypt]]
* [[Israel]]
* [[Jordan]]
* [[Mauritania]]
* [[Morocco]]
* [[Tunisia]]}}
| style="border:0;" colspan="2"|{{plainlist|
* [[Bahrain]]
* [[Kuwait]]
* [[Qatar]]
* [[United Arab Emirates]]}}
| style="border:0;" colspan="3"|{{plainlist|
* [[Australia]]
* [[Colombia]]
* [[Iraq]]
* [[Japan]]
* [[Mongolia]]
* [[New Zealand]]
* [[Pakistan]]
* [[South Korea]]}}
|}
|}

[[File:World map with tropic of cancer.svg|thumb|Member states of NATO are not obligated to come to the defence of territory south of the [[Tropic of Cancer]].]]

NATO has thirty-two members, mostly in Europe with two in North America. NATO's "area of responsibility", within which attacks on member states are eligible for an Article 5 response, is defined under Article 6 of the [[North Atlantic Treaty]] to include member territory in Europe, North America, Turkey, and islands in the North Atlantic north of the [[Tropic of Cancer]]. Attacks on vessels, aircraft and other forces in the North Atlantic (again, north of the Tropic of Cancer) and the Mediterranean Sea may also provoke an Article 5 response.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 April 1949 |title=The North Atlantic Treaty |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_17120.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914102953/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_17120.htm |archive-date=14 September 2011 |access-date=2 March 2024 |website=NATO |language=en}}.</ref> During the original treaty negotiations, the United States insisted that colonies such as the [[Belgian Congo]] be excluded from the treaty.{{sfn|Collins|2011|pp=122–123}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nato.int/ebookshop/video/declassified/#/en/encyclopedia/the_birth_of_nato/the_key_issues_of_contention/the_area_of_responsibility/ |title= The area of responsibility |work= NATO Declassified |publisher= NATO |date= 23 February 2013 |access-date= 28 September 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130601131134/http://www.nato.int/ebookshop/video/declassified/#/en/encyclopedia/the_birth_of_nato/the_key_issues_of_contention/the_area_of_responsibility/ |archive-date= 1 June 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[French Algeria]] was, however, covered until [[1962 Algerian independence referendum|its independence]] on 3 July 1962.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-C6AD72DE-2E05A89E/natolive/topics_67656.htm?selectedLocale=en |title= Washington Treaty |publisher= NATO |date= 11 April 2011 |access-date= 28 September 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131016081817/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-C6AD72DE-2E05A89E/natolive/topics_67656.htm?selectedLocale=en |archive-date= 16 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Twelve of these thirty-two are original members who joined in 1949, while the other twenty joined in one of ten enlargement rounds.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/12/how-does-a-country-join-nato-2 |title= How does a country join NATO? |website= Al Jazeera |date= 12 July 2023 |accessdate= 23 July 2023 |archive-date= 22 July 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230722162248/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/12/how-does-a-country-join-nato-2 |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Special arrangements===
The three Nordic countries which joined NATO as founding members, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway, chose to limit their participation in three areas: there would be no permanent peacetime bases, no nuclear warheads and no Allied military activity (unless invited) permitted on their territory. However, Denmark allows the [[U.S. Space Force]] to maintain [[Pituffik Space Base]], in Greenland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_162357.htm |title=Denmark and NATO – 1949 |access-date=13 April 2022 |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413192145/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_162357.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, France pursued a military strategy of independence from NATO under a policy dubbed "Gaullo-Mitterrandism".<ref>{{cite web |title=Why the concept of Gaullo-Mitterrandism is still relevant |url=https://www.iris-france.org/136272-why-the-concept-of-gaullo-mitterrandism-is-still-relevant/ |website=IRIS |access-date=7 March 2022 |date=29 April 2019 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307043522/https://www.iris-france.org/136272-why-the-concept-of-gaullo-mitterrandism-is-still-relevant/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] negotiated the return of France to the integrated military command and the Defence Planning Committee in 2009, the latter being disbanded the following year. France remains the only NATO member outside the Nuclear Planning Group and, unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, will not commit its nuclear-armed submarines to the alliance.<ref name="WP-France"/><ref name="guardian-france"/>

===Enlargement===
{{Main|Enlargement of NATO}}

{{Stack|[[File:History of NATO enlargement.svg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|NATO has added 16 new members since [[German reunification]] and the end of the [[Cold War]].|alt=A map of Europe with countries labelled in shades of blue, green, and yellow based on when they joined NATO.]]}}

NATO was established on 4 April 1949 by the signing of the [[North Atlantic Treaty]] (Washington Treaty). The 12 founding members of the alliance were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Member countries |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_52044.htm |access-date=29 June 2022 |website=NATO |language=en |archive-date=29 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329231751/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_52044.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Four new members joined during the Cold War: Greece (1952), Turkey (1952), [[West Germany]] (1955) and Spain (1982). Following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], many former [[Warsaw Pact]] and [[post-Soviet states]] sought membership. In 1990, the territory of the former [[East Germany]] was added with the [[German reunification|reunification of Germany]]. At the [[1999 Washington summit]], Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic officially joined, and NATO issued new guidelines for membership, with individualized "[[Membership Action Plan]]s". These plans governed the addition of new members: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, and North Macedonia in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|title=Relations with the Republic of North Macedonia (Archived)|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48830.htm|access-date=16 February 2022 |website=NATO |language=en|archive-date=10 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310022112/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48830.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Finland and Sweden are the newest members, joining in 2023 and 2024 respectively, spurred on by the [[Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)|Russo-Ukrainian war]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65173043 |title=NATO's border with Russia doubles as Finland joins |work=BBC News |date=4 April 2023 |access-date=4 April 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404150315/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65173043 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="swe-membership-final">{{cite web|title=Notification Reference No. 2024-008|url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NATO-Sweden-Accession-Protocol-Notification-of-Entry-Into-Force-March-7-2024.pdf|website=United States Department of State|date=7 March 2024|access-date=7 March 2024|archive-date=7 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307141956/https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NATO-Sweden-Accession-Protocol-Notification-of-Entry-Into-Force-March-7-2024.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Ukraine–NATO relations|Ukraine's relationship with NATO]] began with the NATO–Ukraine Action Plan in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49290.htm |title=NATO Topics: Individual Partnership Action Plans |publisher=NATO |access-date=29 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310015635/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49290.htm |archive-date=10 March 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005, Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]] said that if Ukraine joined NATO, "we will respect their choice, because it is their sovereign right to decide their own defence policy, and this will not worsen relations between our countries".<ref>Vladimir V. Putin, [http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/22952 "France 3 Interview, 7 May 2005"]. President of Russia.</ref> However, since his [[2007 Munich speech of Vladimir Putin|2007 Munich speech]], Putin has strongly opposed further enlargement. In 2010, under President [[Viktor Yanukovych]], Ukraine re-affirmed its non-aligned status and renounced aspirations of joining NATO.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/yanukovych-signs-law-declaring-ukraines-non-aligne-73680.html |title=Yanukovych signs law declaring Ukraine's non-aligned status |work=[[Kyiv Post]] |date=15 July 2010 |access-date=25 February 2022 |archive-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202025840/https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine-politics/yanukovych-signs-law-declaring-ukraines-non-aligne-73680.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[2014 Ukrainian Revolution]], Russia [[Russian occupation of Crimea|occupied Crimea]] and supported [[Russian separatist forces in Ukraine|armed separatists in eastern Ukraine]]. Because of this, in December 2014 Ukraine's parliament voted to end its non-aligned status,<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine drops non-aligned status in swipe at Moscow |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20141223-ukraine-parliament-votes-scrap-non-aligned-status-russia-nato |work=[[France 24]] |date=23 December 2014 |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308140645/https://www.france24.com/en/20141223-ukraine-parliament-votes-scrap-non-aligned-status-russia-nato |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2019 it enshrined the goal of NATO membership in the [[Constitution of Ukraine|Constitution]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine's parliament backs changes to Constitution confirming Ukraine's path toward EU, NATO |url=https://www.unian.info/politics/10437570-ukraine-s-parliament-backs-changes-to-constitution-confirming-ukraine-s-path-toward-eu-nato.html |work=[[Ukrainian Independent Information Agency]] |date=7 February 2019 |access-date=7 March 2024 |archive-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215054226/https://www.unian.info/politics/10437570-ukraine-s-parliament-backs-changes-to-constitution-confirming-ukraine-s-path-toward-eu-nato.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The law amending the Constitution on the course of accession to the EU and NATO has entered into force {{!}} European integration portal|url=https://eu-ua.org/novyny/zakon-pro-zminy-do-konstytuciyi-shchodo-kursu-na-vstup-v-yes-i-nato-nabuv-chynnosti|website=eu-ua.org|access-date=23 March 2021|language=uk|archive-date=28 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928024828/https://eu-ua.org/novyny/zakon-pro-zminy-do-konstytuciyi-shchodo-kursu-na-vstup-v-yes-i-nato-nabuv-chynnosti|url-status=live}}</ref> At the June [[2021 Brussels summit|2021 Brussels Summit]], NATO leaders affirmed that Ukraine would eventually join, and supported Ukraine's right to self-determination without interference.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_185000.htm|title=Brussels Summit Communiqué issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels 14 June 2021|website=NATO|access-date=14 June 2021|archive-date=21 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221172546/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_185000.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In late 2021, there was another massive [[Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian military buildup]] on Ukraine's borders. Russian president Putin warned that Ukraine joining NATO, and the deployment of [[United States national missile defense|missile defense systems]] or long-range missiles in Ukraine, would [[Red line (phrase)|cross a red line]]. However, Ukraine was a long way from potential membership, and there were no such plans to deploy missiles.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia will act if Nato countries cross Ukraine 'red lines', Putin says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/30/russia-will-act-if-nato-countries-cross-ukraine-red-lines-putin-says |work=The Guardian |date=30 November 2021 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217112550/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/30/russia-will-act-if-nato-countries-cross-ukraine-red-lines-putin-says |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=NATO Pushes Back Against Russian President Putin's 'Red Lines' Over Ukraine |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43334/nato-pushes-back-against-russian-president-putins-red-lines-over-ukraine |work=The Drive |date=1 December 2021 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=14 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214164345/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43334/nato-pushes-back-against-russian-president-putins-red-lines-over-ukraine |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Putin warns Russia will act if NATO crosses its red lines in Ukraine |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/stocks/putin-warns-russia-will-act-if-nato-crosses-its-red-lines-ukraine-2021-11-30/ |work=Reuters |date=30 November 2021 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=19 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119022224/https://www.reuters.com/markets/stocks/putin-warns-russia-will-act-if-nato-crosses-its-red-lines-ukraine-2021-11-30/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Russian Foreign Ministry drafted a treaty that would forbid Ukraine or any former Soviet state from ever joining NATO.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia demands NATO roll back from East Europe and stay out of Ukraine |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-unveils-security-guarantees-says-western-response-not-encouraging-2021-12-17/ |work=[[Reuters]] |date=17 December 2021 |access-date=7 March 2024 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222081106/https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-unveils-security-guarantees-says-western-response-not-encouraging-2021-12-17/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Secretary-General Stoltenberg replied that the decision is up to Ukraine and NATO members, adding "Russia has no veto...and Russia has no right to establish a [[sphere of influence]] to try to control their neighbors".<ref>{{cite news |title=NATO chief: "Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence" |url=https://www.axios.com/nato-russia-ukraine-invasion-18619fd7-be80-4d37-86f8-fcebcb1fbe8a.html |work=Axios |date=1 December 2021 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214172403/https://www.axios.com/nato-russia-ukraine-invasion-18619fd7-be80-4d37-86f8-fcebcb1fbe8a.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Is Russia preparing to invade Ukraine? And other questions |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589 |work=BBC News |date=10 December 2021 |access-date=13 December 2021 |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219125518/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589 |url-status=live }}</ref> NATO offered to improve communications with Russia and discuss missile placements and military exercises, as long as Russia withdrew troops from Ukraine's borders.<ref>{{cite news |title=US offers no concessions in response to Russia on Ukraine |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-united-states-moscow-72856781c3b92640d03c5e954488ba90 |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=26 January 2022 |access-date=7 March 2024 |archive-date=1 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001143405/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-united-states-moscow-72856781c3b92640d03c5e954488ba90 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, relations diminished after the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. Ukraine applied for NATO membership in September 2022 after Russia proclaimed it had [[Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts|annexed the country's southeast]].<ref>{{cite news |date=30 September 2022 |title=Ukraine applies for Nato membership after Russia annexes territory |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/30/ukraine-applies-for-nato-membership-after-russia-annexes-territory |url-status=live |access-date=30 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001000623/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/30/ukraine-applies-for-nato-membership-after-russia-annexes-territory |archive-date=1 October 2022}}</ref>

Georgia was promised "future membership" during the 2008 summit in Bucharest,<ref>{{cite journal |author=George J, Teigen JM |year=2008 |title=NATO Enlargement and Institution Building: Military Personnel Policy Challenges in the Post-Soviet Context |journal=European Security |volume=17 |issue=2 |page=346 |doi=10.1080/09662830802642512|s2cid=153420615 |issn=0966-2839 }}</ref> but US president [[Barack Obama]] said in 2014 that the country was not "currently on a path" to membership.<ref name = "Obama says no">{{Cite news |last = Cathcourt |first = Will |date = 27 March 2014 |title = Obama Tells Georgia to Forget About NATO After Encouraging It to Join |url = http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/27/obama-tells-georgia-to-forget-about-nato-after-encouraging-it-to-join.html |work = [[The Daily Beast]] |access-date = 15 April 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140416193123/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/27/obama-tells-georgia-to-forget-about-nato-after-encouraging-it-to-join.html |archive-date = 16 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:We Stand with Ukraine 2022 Helsinki - Finland (51905505001).jpg|thumb|Protestors at a February 2022 rally against [[Russo-Ukrainian War|Russia's invasion of Ukraine]] march past the statue of Tsar [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] in [[Senate Square, Helsinki|Senate Square]] in [[Helsinki]], Finland|alt=A crowd of people in winter coats march past a white domed church above a set of snowy stairs, some carrying signs and blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.]]

Russian leaders have said that NATO enlargement went against informal understandings between Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and European and US negotiators that allowed for peaceful German reunification.<ref name = "Spiegel review">{{Cite news |last1= Klussmann |first1= Uwe |last2= Schepp |first2= Matthias |last3= Wiegrefe |first3= Klaus |date= 26 November 2009 |title= NATO's Eastward Expansion: Did the West Break Its Promise to Moscow? |url= http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nato-s-eastward-expansion-did-the-west-break-its-promise-to-moscow-a-663315.html |work= [[Spiegel Online]] |access-date= 7 April 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140405190301/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nato-s-eastward-expansion-did-the-west-break-its-promise-to-moscow-a-663315.html |archive-date= 5 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> A June 2016 [[Levada Center]] poll found that 68 percent of Russians think that deploying NATO troops in the [[Baltic states]] and Poland – former Eastern bloc countries bordering Russia – is a threat to Russia.<ref>[http://www.levada.ru/en/2016/11/04/levada-center_chicago_council/ Levada-Center and Chicago Council on Global Affairs about Russian-American relations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819190307/http://www.levada.ru/en/2016/11/04/levada-center_chicago_council/ |date=19 August 2017 }}. Levada-Center. 4 November 2016.</ref> In contrast, 65 percent of Poles surveyed in a 2017{{update inline|date=September 2025}} Pew Research Center report identified Russia as a "major threat", with an average of 31 percent saying so across all NATO countries,<ref>{{cite news |title=Pew survey: Russia disliked around world; most in Poland, Turkey see Kremlin as major threat |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/russia/pew-survey-russia-disliked-around-world-poland-turkey-see-kremlin-major-threat.html |newspaper=Kyiv Post |access-date=4 September 2018 |date=16 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323093746/https://www.kyivpost.com/russia/pew-survey-russia-disliked-around-world-poland-turkey-see-kremlin-major-threat.html |archive-date=23 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and 67 percent of Poles surveyed in 2018{{update inline|date=September 2025}} favour US forces being based in Poland.<ref>{{cite web |title=NATO summit: Poland pins its hopes on the USA |url=https://www.dw.com/en/nato-summit-poland-pins-its-hopes-on-the-usa/a-44606598 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904121243/https://www.dw.com/en/nato-summit-poland-pins-its-hopes-on-the-usa/a-44606598 |archive-date=4 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Of non-[[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] Eastern European countries surveyed by Gallup in 2016,{{update inline|date=September 2025}} all but [[Serbia]] and [[Montenegro]] were more likely than not to view NATO as a protective alliance rather than a threat.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Michael |title=Most NATO Members in Eastern Europe See It as Protection |date=10 February 2017 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/203819/nato-members-eastern-europe-protection.aspx |publisher=Gallup |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904153827/https://news.gallup.com/poll/203819/nato-members-eastern-europe-protection.aspx |archive-date=4 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2006 study in the journal ''[[Security Studies (journal)|Security Studies]]'' argued that NATO enlargement contributed to [[democratic consolidation]] in Central and Eastern Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Epstein|first=Rachel|date=2006|title=Nato Enlargement and the Spread of Democracy: Evidence and Expectations|journal=Security Studies|volume=14|issue=1 |page=63|doi=10.1080/09636410591002509|s2cid=143878355}}</ref> [[China]] also opposes further expansion.<ref>{{cite news|title=China joins Russia in opposing Nato expansion|work=BBC News|date=4 February 2022|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60257080|access-date=4 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217171200/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60257080|archive-date=17 February 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

===NATO defence expenditure===

====Direct contributions====
Member states pay for NATO's three common funds (the civil and military budgets and the security investment programme) based on a cost-sharing formula that includes per capita gross national income and other factors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL30150.html |title=NATO Common Funds Burdensharing: Background and Current Issues |work=[[Congressional Research Service]] |date=15 February 2012 |access-date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214122605/https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL30150.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="rfek">{{cite news |last1=Farley |first1=Robert |last2=Kiely |first2=Eugene |url=https://rollcall.com/2024/02/13/fact-checking-trump-comments-on-delinquent-nato-countries/ |title=Fact-checking Trump comments on 'delinquent' NATO countries |work=[[Roll Call]] |date=13 February 2024 |access-date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214034901/https://rollcall.com/2024/02/13/fact-checking-trump-comments-on-delinquent-nato-countries/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023–2024, the United States and Germany were the biggest contributors to the NATO budget at 16.2% each.<ref name="rfek"/><ref name="funding">{{cite web |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_67655.htm |title=Funding NATO |work=[[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] |date=14 February 2024 |access-date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213182554/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_67655.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Indirect contributions====
Member states pay for and maintain their own troops and equipment.<ref name="rfek"/><ref name="funding"/> They contribute to NATO operations and missions by committing troops and equipment on a voluntary basis.<ref name="funding"/> Since 2006, the goal has been for each country to spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product on its own defence; in 2014, a NATO declaration said that countries not meeting the goal would "aim to move towards the 2 percent guideline within a decade".<ref name="rfek"/><ref name="agss">{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Andrew |last2=Siebold |first2=Sabine |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/what-did-trump-say-about-nato-funding-what-is-article-5-2024-02-12/ |title=What did Trump say about NATO funding and what is Article 5? |work=[[Reuters]] |date=13 February 2024 |access-date=14 February 2024}}</ref> In July 2022, NATO estimated that 11 members would meet the target in 2023.<ref name="agss"/> On 14 February 2024, NATO Secretary General [[Jens Stoltenberg]] said that 18 member states would meet the 2% target in 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sabbagh |first=Dan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/14/nato-chief-rebukes-donald-trump-and-announces-record-defence-spending |title=Nato chief rebukes Donald Trump and announces record defence spending |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=14 February 2024 |access-date=14 February 2024 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214163731/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/14/nato-chief-rebukes-donald-trump-and-announces-record-defence-spending |url-status=live }}</ref> On 17 June 2024, prior to the [[2024 Washington summit]], Stoltenberg updated that figure and announced that a record 23 of 32 NATO member states were meeting their defense spending targets of 2% of their country's GDP.<ref name=NATOSpending>{{cite web|title=Secretary General in Washington: NATO makes America stronger|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_226749.htm?selectedLocale=en|publisher=NATO|website=NATO.int|date=17 June 2024|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref><ref name=APSpending>{{cite web|title=A record number of NATO allies are hitting their defense spending target during war in Ukraine|url=https://apnews.com/article/nato-defense-spending-stoltenberg-biden-5246409eec70745e6e936d997073a6f4|author1=Knickmeyer, Ellen|author2=Seung Min Kim|publisher=Associated Press|website=APNews.com|date=17 June 2024|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref> NATO added that defense spending for European member states and Canada was up 18% in the past year alone.<ref name=NATOSpending/><ref name=APSpending/> As of 2024, the following countries were not meeting the 2% contribution goal: Spain (1.28%), Luxembourg (1.29%), Slovenia (1.29%), Belgium (1.3%), Canada (1.37%), Italy (1.49%), Portugal (1.55%), and Croatia (1.81%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=NATO Spending by Country 2025 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/nato-spending-by-country |access-date=2025-10-10 |website=World Population Review |language=en}}</ref>

==Partnerships with third countries==
{{Main|Foreign relations of NATO}}

[[File:Cooperative Archer 2007.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Partnership for Peace conducts multinational military exercises such as Cooperative Archer, which took place in Tbilisi in July 2007 with 500 servicemen from four NATO members, eight PfP members, and Jordan, a Mediterranean Dialogue participant.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.ria.ru/world/20070709/68610511.html|title=Cooperative Archer military exercise begins in Georgia|date=9 July 2007|agency=RIA Novosti|access-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107122519/http://en.ria.ru/world/20070709/68610511.html|archive-date=7 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>|alt=Hundreds of soldiers in military uniforms stand behind a line on a tarmac with 14 flags held by individuals at the front.]]

The [[Partnership for Peace]] (PfP) programme was established in 1994 and is based on individual bilateral relations between each partner country and NATO: each country may choose the extent of its participation.<ref name=pfp>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/issues/pfp/index.html |title=Partnership for Peace |publisher=NATO |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301054735/http://www.nato.int/issues/pfp/index.html |archive-date=1 March 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Members include all current and former members of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ru.forsecurity.org/nato-and-belarus-partnership-past-tensions-and-future-possibilities |title=Nato and Belarus – partnership, past tensions and future possibilities |publisher=[[Foreign Policy and Security Research Center]] |access-date=25 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020091957/http://ru.forsecurity.org/nato-and-belarus-partnership-past-tensions-and-future-possibilities |archive-date=20 October 2013 }}</ref> The [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council]] (EAPC) was first established on 29 May 1997, and is a forum for regular coordination, consultation and dialogue between all fifty participants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49276.htm |title=NATO Topics: The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council |publisher=NATO |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101024110254/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49276.htm |archive-date=24 October 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> The PfP programme is considered the operational wing of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership.<ref name=pfp/> Other third countries have also been contacted for participation in some activities of the PfP framework, such as Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/b060906e.htm |title=Declaration by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |publisher=NATO |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100908042229/http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/b060906e.htm <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=8 September 2010}}</ref>

The European Union (EU) signed a comprehensive package of arrangements with NATO under the [[Berlin Plus agreement]] on 16 December 2002. With this agreement, the EU was given the possibility of using NATO assets if it wanted to act independently in an international crisis, on the condition that NATO itself did not want to act – the so-called "[[right of first refusal]]".<ref>{{cite web|first=Bram|last=Boxhoorn|date=21 September 2005|publisher=ATA Education |url=http://www.ataedu.org/article_new.php?id=107 |title=Broad Support for NATO in the Netherlands |access-date=7 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218090444/http://www.ataedu.org/article_new.php?id=107 |archive-date=18 February 2007}}</ref> For example, Article 42(7) of the 1982 [[Treaty of Lisbon]] specifies that "If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power". The treaty applies globally to specified territories, whereas NATO is restricted under its Article 6 to operations north of the [[Tropic of Cancer]]. It provides a "double framework" for the EU countries that are also linked with the PfP programme.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Howorth|first=Jolyon|title=Strategic Autonomy and EU-NATO Cooperation: A Win-Win Approach|url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-l-europe-en-formation-2019-2-page-85.htm?ref=doi|journal=L'Europe en Formation|date=2019 |volume=389 |issue=2 |pages=85–103 |doi=10.3917/eufor.389.0085 |access-date=14 April 2023|archive-date=28 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228130506/https://www.cairn.info/revue-l-europe-en-formation-2019-2-page-85.htm?ref=doi|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=7 June 2016|title=Official Journal of the European Union|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12016M042|website=EUR-Lex|access-date=14 April 2023|archive-date=21 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321174341/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12016M042|url-status=live}}</ref>

Additionally, NATO cooperates and discusses its activities with numerous other non-NATO members. The [[Mediterranean Dialogue]] was established in 1994 to coordinate in a similar way with [[Foreign relations of Israel|Israel]] and countries in North Africa. The [[Istanbul Cooperation Initiative]] was announced in 2004 as a dialogue forum for the Middle East along the same lines as the Mediterranean Dialogue. The four participants are also linked through the [[Gulf Cooperation Council]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-4CA2943D-E00ED2BF/natolive/51288.htm |title=NATO Partner countries |publisher=NATO |date=6 March 2009 |access-date=15 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805170235/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-4CA2943D-E00ED2BF/natolive/51288.htm |archive-date=5 August 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2018, Qatar expressed a wish to join NATO,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/05/06/2018/Qatar-eyes-full-NATO-membership-Defense-minister|title=Qatar eyes full NATO membership: Defense minister|date=5 June 2018|publisher=The Peninsula|access-date=11 September 2019|archive-date=2 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002235442/https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/05/06/2018/Qatar-eyes-full-NATO-membership-Defense-minister |url-status=live}}</ref> who ruled it out, saying that only additional European countries could join according to [[North Atlantic Treaty#Article 10|Article 10 of NATO's founding treaty]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2018/06/06/qatar-says-it-wants-to-join-nato |title=Nato rejects Qatar membership ambition|publisher=Dhaka Tribune|date=6 June 2018|access-date=11 September 2019|archive-date=2 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202221638/https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2018/06/06/qatar-says-it-wants-to-join-nato |url-status=live}}</ref> Qatar and NATO had earlier signed a joint security agreement, in January 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_150794.htm|title=Qatar signs security agreement with NATO|publisher=NATO|date=16 January 2018|access-date=11 September 2019|archive-date=1 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001140343/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_150794.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Political dialogue with Japan began in 1990, and since then, the Alliance has gradually increased its contact with countries that do not form part of any of these cooperation initiatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/summit2009/topics_en/12-contact_countries.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910234056/http://www.nato.int/summit2009/topics_en/12-contact_countries.html|url-status=dead|title=NATO Topics:NATO's relations with Contact Countries|archivedate=10 September 2013|website=NATO }}</ref> In 1998, NATO established a set of general guidelines that do not allow for a formal institutionalization of relations, but reflect the Allies' desire to increase cooperation. Following extensive debate, the term "Contact Countries" was agreed by the Allies in 2000. By 2012, the Alliance had broadened this group, which meets to discuss issues such as counter-piracy and technology exchange, under the names "[[NATO global partners|global partners]]" or "partners across the globe".<ref name=gao>{{cite news |url=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d101015.pdf |title=NATO PARTNERSHIPS: DOD Needs to Assess U.S. Assistance in Response to Changes to the Partnership for Peace Program |publisher=[[United States Government Accountability Office]] |date=September 2010 |access-date=27 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618101741/http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d101015.pdf |archive-date=18 June 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/51288.htm |title= Partners |publisher= NATO |date= 2 April 2012 |access-date= 12 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121007061711/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/51288.htm |archive-date= 7 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Australia and New Zealand, both global partners,<ref>{{cite web | title=Topic: NATO's partnerships | website=NATO | date=2025-05-12 | url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_84336.htm | access-date=2025-08-28}}</ref> are also members of the [[AUSCANNZUKUS]] strategic alliance, and similar regional or bilateral agreements between contact countries and NATO members also aid cooperation. NATO Secretary General [[Jens Stoltenberg]] stated that NATO needs to "address the [[Chinese Century|rise of China]]", by closely cooperating with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Mair |first2=Colin |last2=Packham|title=NATO needs to address China's rise, says Stoltenberg |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-nato/nato-needs-to-address-chinas-rise-says-stoltenberg-idUSKCN1UX0YX |work=Reuters |date=7 August 2019 |access-date=11 September 2019 |archive-date=14 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814225018/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-nato/nato-needs-to-address-chinas-rise-says-stoltenberg-idUSKCN1UX0YX |url-status=live }}</ref> Colombia is NATO's latest partner and has access to the full range of cooperative activities offered; it is the only [[Latin American]] country to cooperate with NATO.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_143936.htm?selectedLocale=en |title= Relations with Colombia |publisher= nato.int |date= 19 May 2017 |access-date= 20 May 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170521075718/http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_143936.htm?selectedLocale=en |archive-date= 21 May 2017 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 May 2018|title=Colombia to be NATO's first Latin American global partner|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-nato-idUSKCN1IR0E8|website=Reuters|access-date=14 April 2023|archive-date=18 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818152139/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-nato-idUSKCN1IR0E8|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Structure==
{{Main|Structure of NATO}}

[[File:NATO Ministers of Defense and of Foreign Affairs meet at NATO headquarters in Brussels 2010.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|The North Atlantic Council convening in 2010 with a defence/foreign minister configuration]]

All agencies and organizations of NATO are integrated into either the civilian administrative or military executive roles. For the most part, they perform roles and functions that directly or indirectly support the security role of the alliance as a whole.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

The civilian structure includes:
* The [[North Atlantic Council]] (NAC) is the body which has effective governance authority and powers of decision in NATO, consisting of member states' permanent representatives or representatives at higher level (ministers of foreign affairs or defence, or heads of state or government). The NAC convenes at least once a week and takes major decisions regarding NATO's policies. The meetings of the North Atlantic Council are chaired by the [[Secretary General of NATO|secretary general]] and, when decisions have to be made, action is agreed upon by consensus.<ref>{{cite web | title=Topic: Consensus decision-making at NATO | website=NATO | date=5 July 2016 | url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49178.htm | ref={{sfnref | NATO | 2016}} | access-date=25 February 2022 | archive-date=25 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225212946/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49178.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> There is no voting or decision by majority. Each state represented at the Council table or on any of its subordinate committees retains complete sovereignty and responsibility for its own decisions.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CX1ZDwAAQBAJ |title= Encyclopedia of Military Science |first= G. Kurt |last= Piehler |publisher= SAGE Publications |date= 24 July 2013 |isbn= 978-1-5063-1081-7 |pages= 991–995 |access-date= 23 July 2023 |archive-date= 23 July 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230723205346/https://books.google.com/books?id=CX1ZDwAAQBAJ |url-status= live }}</ref>
* The [[NATO Parliamentary Assembly]] (NATO PA) is a body that sets broad strategic goals for NATO, which meets at two session per year. NATO PA interacts directly with the parliamentary structures of the national governments of the member states which appoint Permanent Members, or ambassadors to NATO. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is made up of legislators from the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance as well as thirteen associate members. It is however officially a structure different from NATO, and has as aim to join deputies of NATO countries in order to discuss security policies on the NATO Council.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8951/ |title= NATO Parliamentary Assembly in brief |website= The House of Commons |date= 30 June 2023 |accessdate= 23 July 2023 |archive-date= 23 July 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230723205347/https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8951/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
* [[NATO headquarters]], located on Boulevard Léopold&nbsp;III/Leopold III-laan, B-1110 Brussels, which is in the [[Brussels (municipality)|City of Brussels]] municipality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/|title=NATO homepage|access-date=12 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326073647/http://www.nato.int/|archive-date=26 March 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> The staff at the Headquarters is composed of national delegations of member countries and includes civilian and military liaison offices and officers or diplomatic missions and diplomats of partner countries, as well as the International Staff and International Military Staff filled from serving members of the armed forces of member states.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49284.htm|title=NATO Headquarters|publisher=NATO|date=10 August 2010|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913014616/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49284.htm|archive-date=13 September 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> Non-governmental groups have also grown up in support of NATO, broadly under the banner of the [[Atlantic Council]]/[[Atlantic Treaty Association]] movement.<ref name="Paper">{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/96-98/small.pdf|title=The Atlantic Council—The Early Years|last=Small|first=Melvin|date=1 June 1998|publisher=NATO|access-date=15 November 2015|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170512/http://www.nato.int/acad/fellow/96-98/small.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_69053.htm |title=Atlantic Treaty Association and Youth Atlantic Treaty Association |date=7 April 2016 |publisher=NATO |access-date=11 March 2022 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030102644/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_69053.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{NATO commands}}

The military structure includes:
* The [[NATO Military Committee|Military Committee]] (MC) is the body of NATO that is composed of [[Member states of NATO|member states]]' [[Chief of Defence|Chiefs of Defence]] (CHOD) and advises the [[North Atlantic Council]] (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are two- or three-star flag officers. Like the council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each country's armed forces. The MC is led by [[Chairman of the NATO Military Committee|its chairman]], who directs NATO's military operations.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49152.htm |title= Chair of the Military Committee |website= NATO |date= 31 March 2023 |accessdate= 23 July 2023 |archive-date= 26 June 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230626161908/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49152.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country's 1966 decision to remove itself from the [[NATO Military Command Structure]], which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/06/17/france.nato/|title=France to rejoin NATO command|publisher=CNN|date=17 June 2008 |access-date=4 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205111043/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/06/17/france.nato/|archive-date=5 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Such was the case in the lead up to [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Thomas|last=Fuller|title=Reaching accord, EU warns Saddam of his 'last chance'|newspaper=International Herald Tribune|date=18 February 2003|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2003/02/18/eu_ed3__1.php|access-date=15 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012115843/http://iht.com/articles/2003/02/18/eu_ed3__1.php|archive-date=12 October 2007}}</ref>
* [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe|Allied Command Operations]] (ACO) is the NATO command responsible for NATO operations worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://shape.nato.int/about |publisher=[[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]] |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308080129/https://shape.nato.int/about |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The Rapid Deployable Corps include [[Eurocorps]], [[I. German/Dutch Corps]], [[Multinational Corps Northeast]], and [[NATO Rapid Deployable Italian Corps]] among others, as well as naval High Readiness Forces (HRFs), which all report to Allied Command Operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_50088.htm|title=The Rapid Deployable Corps|publisher=NATO|date=26 November 2012 |access-date=4 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910135843/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_50088.htm|archive-date=10 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Allied Command Transformation]] (ACT), responsible for transformation and training of NATO forces.<ref>{{cite web |title=Who We Are |url=https://www.act.nato.int/who-we-are |publisher=[[Allied Command Transformation]] |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306193652/https://www.act.nato.int/who-we-are |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Legal authority of NATO commanders===
[[File:The Foreign Secretary Attends NATO FM's Meeting in Brussels (52793288103).jpg|thumb|Flags of NATO member countries outside the NATO headquarters in [[Brussels]].]]

NATO is an alliance of 32 sovereign states and their individual sovereignty is unaffected by participation in the alliance. NATO has no parliaments, no laws, no enforcement, and no power to punish individual citizens. As a consequence of this lack of sovereignty the power and authority of a NATO commander are limited. NATO commanders cannot punish offences such as failure to obey a lawful order; dereliction of duty; or disrespect to a senior officer.<ref name="terla">{{cite journal |last1=Randall |first1=Thomas E. |title=Legal Authority of NATO Commanders |journal=NATO Legal Gazette |date=July 2014 |issue=34 |pages=39–45 |url=https://www.act.nato.int/application/files/1016/0999/3864/legal_gazette_34.pdf |access-date=29 August 2021 |archive-date=29 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829212244/https://www.act.nato.int/application/files/1016/0999/3864/legal_gazette_34.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> NATO commanders expect obedience but sometimes need to subordinate their desires or plans to the operators who are themselves subject to sovereign codes of conduct like the [[UCMJ]]. A case in point was the clash between General [[Mike Jackson (British Army officer)|Sir Mike Jackson]] and General [[Wesley Clark]] over [[Incident at Pristina airport|KFOR actions at Pristina Airport]].<ref name="gsmjdt">{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=General Sir Mike |title=Gen Sir Mike Jackson: My clash with Nato chief |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1562161/Gen-Sir-Mike-Jackson-My-clash-with-Nato-chief.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1562161/Gen-Sir-Mike-Jackson-My-clash-with-Nato-chief.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |publisher=Telegraph Media Group Limited |date=4 September 2007}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

NATO commanders can issue orders to their subordinate commanders in the form of operational plans (OPLANs), operational orders (OPORDERs), tactical direction, or fragmental orders (FRAGOs) and others. The joint rules of engagement must be followed, and the [[Law of Armed Conflict]] must be obeyed at all times. Operational resources "remain under national command but have been transferred temporarily to NATO. Although these national units, through the formal process of transfer of authority, have been placed under the operational command and control of a NATO commander, they never lose their national character." Senior national representatives, like [[Chief of the Defence Staff (disambiguation)|CDS]], "are designated as so-called red-cardholders". Caveats are restrictions listed "nation by nation... that NATO Commanders... must take into account".<ref name="terla"/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada|United States|Europe|Modern history}}
* {{anl|Atlanticism}}
* [[Common Security and Defence Policy]] of the [[European Union]]
** [[History of the Common Security and Defence Policy]]
* [[List of countries in Europe by military expenditures]]
* [[List of military alliances]]
* [[List of military equipment of NATO]]
* {{anl|Major non-NATO ally}}
* {{anl|Ranks and insignia of NATO}}
* [[NATO strategy in the Arctic]]
* [[NATO Arctic Sentry]]

===Similar organizations===
* [[ANZUS]] – Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty
* [[AUKUS]] – Australia, United Kingdom, United States
* [[Balkan Pact (1953)|Balkan Pact]] – [[SFR Yugoslavia]] with NATO members [[Greece]] and [[Turkey]]
* [[Collective Security Treaty Organization]] (CSTO) – Russia and some former Soviet republics
* [[Five Eyes]] – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States intelligence services
* {{anl|Five Power Defence Arrangements|abbr=FPDA}}
* {{anl|Free World Military Assistance Forces|abbr=FWMAF}}
* {{anl|Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance}}
* {{anl|Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition|abbr=IMCTC}}
* {{anl|Baghdad Pact|Middle East Treaty Organization|abbr=METO}}
* {{anl|Northeast Asia Treaty Organization|abbr=NEATO}}
* {{anl|Shanghai Cooperation Organisation|abbr=SCO}}
* {{anl|South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone}}
* {{anl|Southeast Asia Treaty Organization|abbr=SEATO}}
* {{anl|United Nations Command|abbr=UNC}}

==References==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|30em}}

===Works cited===
{{refbegin|30em}} 
* {{Cite journal | last = Art | first = Robert J. | author-link = Robert J. Art | year = 1998 | title = Creating a Disaster: NATO's Open Door Policy | journal = Political Science Quarterly | volume = 113 | number = 3 | pages = 383–403 | jstor = 2658073 | doi = 10.2307/2658073 }}
* {{cite book |last1= Bethlehem |first1= Daniel L. |last2= Weller |first2= Marc |title= The 'Yugoslav' Crisis in International Law |year= 1997 |series= Cambridge International Documents Series |volume= 5 |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn= 978-0-521-46304-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7SczBzxA6-IC&pg=PR55 |access-date= 27 June 2015 |archive-date= 3 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160403080406/https://books.google.com/books?id=7SczBzxA6-IC&pg=PR55 |url-status= live }}
* {{cite book |last= Clausson |first= M.I. |title= NATO: Status, Relations, and Decision-Making |publisher= Nova Publishers |year= 2006 |isbn= 978-1-60021-098-3 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ei38uQH5M5kC&pg=PA94 |access-date= 27 June 2015 |archive-date= 5 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160405181655/https://books.google.com/books?id=ei38uQH5M5kC&pg=PA94 |url-status= live }}
* {{cite book |last= Collins |first= Brian J. |title= NATO: A Guide to the Issues |publisher= ABC-CLIO |year= 2011 |isbn= 978-0-313-35491-5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KyBPuKcUXowC |access-date= 27 June 2015 |archive-date= 15 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160415183835/https://books.google.com/books?id=KyBPuKcUXowC |url-status= live }}
* {{cite book |last= van der Eyden |first= Ton |title= Public management of society: rediscovering French institutional engineering in the European context |volume= 1 |publisher= IOS Press |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-1-58603-291-3 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QJyHlwgWnGQC&pg=PA104 |access-date= 27 June 2015 |archive-date= 18 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160418225810/https://books.google.com/books?id=QJyHlwgWnGQC&pg=PA104 |url-status= live }}
* {{cite book |last= Zenko |first= Micah |author-link= Micah Zenko |title= Between Threats and War: U.S. Discrete Military Operations in the Post-Cold War World |publisher= [[Stanford University Press]] |year= 2010 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rJHU9VZRhjwC&pg=PA133 |isbn= 978-0-8047-7191-7 |access-date= 27 June 2015 |archive-date= 11 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160411152001/https://books.google.com/books?id=rJHU9VZRhjwC&pg=PA133 |url-status= live }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box}}
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |work=Atlantic Council of the United States |title=Transforming the NATO Military Command Structure: A New Framework for Managing the Alliance's Future |url=http://www.acus.org/files/publication_pdfs/65/2003-08-Transforming_the_NATO_Military_Command_Structure.pdf |date=August 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003015226/http://www.acus.org/files/publication_pdfs/65/2003-08-Transforming_the_NATO_Military_Command_Structure.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2012}}
* Axelrod, Robert, and Silvia Borzutzky. "NATO and the War on Terror: The Organizational Challenges of the Post 9/11 World." ''Review of International Organizations'' 1.3 (2006): 293–307. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Silvia_Borzutzky/publication/227307146_NATO_and_the_war_on_terror_The_organizational_challenges_of_the_post_911_world/links/54f78d520cf2ccffe9db4481.pdf online]
* Borawski, John, and Thomas-Durell Young. ''NATO after 2000: the future of the Euro-Atlantic Alliance'' (Greenwood, 2001). 
* {{cite book |last1=Colbourn |first1=Susan |title=Euromissiles: The Nuclear Weapons That Nearly Destroyed NATO |date=2022 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, New York |isbn=978-1501766022}}
* Hendrickson, Ryan C. "NATO's next secretary general: Rasmussen's leadership legacy for Jens Stoltenberg." ''Journal of Transatlantic Studies'' (2016), 15#3, pp. 237–251.
* {{cite web |url=http://archives.nato.int/nato-first-5-years-1949-1954-by-lord-ismay-secretary-general-of-north-atlantic-treaty-organization;isad |title=NATO: The First Five Years |first=Hastings |last=Ismay |date=1954 |publisher=NATO |location=Paris, France |access-date=4 April 2017 |author1-link=Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay |archive-date=15 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315234941/http://archives.nato.int/nato-first-5-years-1949-1954-by-lord-ismay-secretary-general-of-north-atlantic-treaty-organization%3Bisad |url-status=live}}
* "NATO at 70: Balancing Collective Defense and Collective Security", Special issue of ''Journal of Transatlantic Studies'', 17#2 (June 2019), pp. 135–267.
* NATO Office of Information and Press, NATO Handbook: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, NATO, Brussels, Belgium, 1998–1999, Second Reprint.{{ISBN|92-845-0134-2}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.aco.nato.int/resources/21/Evolution%20of%20NATO%20Cmd%20Structure%201951-2009.pdf |title=Evolution of NATO's Command Structure 1951–2009 |last1=Pedlow |first1=Gregory W. |website=aco.nato.int |publisher=NATO ACO |location=Brussels(?) |access-date=18 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721043422/http://www.aco.nato.int/resources/21/Evolution%20of%20NATO%20Cmd%20Structure%201951-2009.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}
* Sayle, Timothy Andrews. ''Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order'' (Cornell University Press, 2019), [http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.php?id=54342 online review].
* Stevenson, Tom, "Ill-Suited to Reality" (review of Sten Rynning, ''NATO: From Cold War to Ukraine, A History of the World's Most Powerful Alliance'', Yale, March 2024.{{ISBN|978 0 300 27011 2}}, 345 pp.; Peter Apps, ''Deterring Armageddon: A Biography of NATO'', Wildfire, February 2024.{{ISBN|978 1 03 540575 6}}, 624 pp.; Grey Anderson, ed., ''Natopolitanism: The Atlantic Alliance since the Cold War'', Verso, July 2023.{{ISBN|978 1 80429 237 2}}, 356 pp.), ''[[London Review of Books]]'', vol. 46, no. 15 (1 August 2024), pp. 15–16, 18. "The most egregious cases of international aggression since the founding of the [NATO] alliance have all involved the US: Korea, Vietnam, the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|First Gulf War]], Afghanistan, Iraq. Yet thanks to the alliance, US-led wars have usually been defended in Europe by appealing to their righteousness.... Triumphalism about Nato has also tended to conceal the extent of US covert activity inside Europe throughout the [[Cold War]], including... in Italy... Denmark... and France... as well as in West Germany and the Netherlands.... The [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] was heavily involved in securing the takeover of Greece by a [[Greek junta|military junta]] in 1967.... It might be cosier to imagine a world without [[Extraordinary rendition|CIA torture sites]] in Poland, Lithuania and Romania, but that isn't the world we live in.... The conditions for the creation of [NATO] were established by Britain's survival in 1940 and its role as a springboard for [[Eisenhower]]'s 'Crusade in Europe'. [Discussions about founding NATO began in] 1948, leading to... the '[[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] proposals'. Nato's founding treaty was [signed in] April 1949... [Today, t]hirty-five years after the end of the Cold War, almost a hundred thousand US military... are stationed across Europe... Another 12,500 are with the [[Sixth Fleet]] in the Mediterranean.... [[Tactical nuclear weapon]]s are deployed... in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands... Only US officials can... order... their use." [p. 15.] "It isn't a law of nature that Dutch pilots should fly [US-made] [[F-35]]s and carry US nuclear bombs on orders from Washington." (p. 18.)

{{refend}}

==External links==
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