NATO in the Post-Cold War Era

Massimo de Leonardis is Professor Emeritus of History of Treaties and International Politics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy, President of the International Commission of Military History and Editor of the Quaderni di Scienze Politiche. He has written and edited 27 books, and sits  on the boards of various Italian and international journals and institutions.

This book analyses the evolution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its policies from the Cold War until today. NATO's future cannot be fully understood without analysing its past: the origins of its structure and goals, and their transformation over time.  By exploring NATO's geopolitical and military role at crucial points throughout history, this edited volume considers the challenges and threats which have faced the alliance, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. It covers highly-debated and unresolved issues such as budgetary burden-sharing and the military transatlantic gap, the enlargement process, and the role of Asia in influencing NATO's policies. Combining a historical approach with international perspectives, this book is an interdisciplinary read that will appeal to scholars of diplomatic history and international relations.

Chapters 1 and 2 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License vialink.springer.com.

Chapter 1. Introduction: NATO in its Seventh Decade: A Reappraisal; Massimo de Leonardis.- Chapter 2. The Historical Roots of the Atlantic Alliance between Values and Interests; Massimo de Leonardis.- Chapter 3. A Troublesome Relationship: The US Grand Strategy, its 'Free Hand Politics', and NATO; Gianluca Pastori.- Chapter 4. Russia-NATO-US: From Detente to Impossible Cooperation; Francesco Randazzo.- Chapter 5. The Anglo-American Special Relationship and NATO: The Past and the Present as Indicators of What Might Come Next?; Alan P. Dobson.- Chapter 6. The Role of NATO in European Integration; Luca Ratti and Alessandro Leonardi.- Chapter 7. The Origins of the Post-Cold War NATO Enlargement: Stability Projection and Factor of Crisis; Davide Borsani.- Chapter 8. NATO's Partnerships in the Mediterranean and the Greater Middle East; Antonio Marquina Barrio.- Chapter 9. NATO and the Impact of the Long War in Afghanistan: Avoiding a Wrong Memory about ISAF; Andrea Carati.- Chapter 10. NATO from the Balkans to Libya: Dynamics and Renewal of a Wilsonian Alliance; Jean-Sylvestre Mongrenier.- Chapter 11. NATO and the Fight against International Terrorism; Kris Quanten.- Chapter 12. How Strong is NATO's Arm: Commands, Cash, Capabilities and Contributions; Alessandro Marrone.-  Chapter 13. Conclusion: NATO Between Mere Survival and Strategic Relaunching; Massimo de Leonardis.