Throughout history the world has been shocked by major wars that have taken place between one country and another. The resolution of these wars has been hard to find and at the end the aftermath of most of the wars has been devastating in economical and social perspective. In the recent years however, most of the wars are internal meaning within the countries rather than against one another. To help promote peace and bring the world together the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created. NATO was established on April 4th 1949 and its headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium. When NATO was first founded it was shaped as a political association but that changed during the years. The entire idea of NATO was to protect all the Western European countries and the United States from a possible attack from the Soviet Union. On March 17, 1948 the Treaty of Brussels was signed by Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom. These are the first member states of the NATO that remain still very active in this organization. However, all these European countries needed the support and military supply of the United States thus immediate talks on its joining the organization started. The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on April 4, 1949 in Washington D.C. and despite the five mentioned state members and the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland also joined the organization. So, at the beginning NATO was created to bring a few countries together and be protected by the other enemy countries or political system. Communism, the Cold War, and the Korean War, all created a sense of insecurity and fear so developed countries wanted to stick together and fight against all these fears. According to Article five of this organization “an armed attack against one or more of (these) countries in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.” The main idea of this is that if a country or the Soviet Union would try to declare war to any of the members of the NATO organization then they had to declare war and fight the 12 member states. All the countries that signed up to be in the organization would watch their “friends” backs and help them as well. After the Korean War outbreak, NATO realized that they were not well prepared to fight against an attack so they decided to increase their defense efforts and merge military forces. In order to have a military force, a commander is also necessary so the countries come together and decided to put in charge as their first Supreme Allied Commander Europe Dwight D.Eisenhower the popular and respected American president, who had led forces through Europe during the WW2. On January 1, 1951 Eisenhower went to Paris to establish a new command group and the headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The Shape was hosted in Paris and later in Rocquencourt but after the separation of France from the alliance SHAPE had to find a new home. NATO was always trying to keep peace between the countries through all its missions but even the long lasting Cold War came to an end and many people assumed that that meant also the NATO had come to an end as well.
However, after the end of the conflicts and the resolution of the silent Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, NATO organization kept on functioning. Today it remains one of the most prestigious and influential organizations in the world. Its missions have increased and they are very active in many parts of the world. The NATO missions have expended further in the world and is now a very important peacekeeper in the Balkans. They have been present in most of the recent wars there and that area is their main focus now.
At the year 2009 NATO lists 28 member states and is open to new candidate members. Today NATO has been developed and expanded in many other countries, the most recent being Albania and Croatia. This shows that NATO is not primarily focused on Western Countries anymore but is open all over the world especially in Eastern Europe. After the collapse of communism in most of these countries they are all struggling for a more secure future, thus looking forward to becoming a member of a safe alliance. The NATO’s mission hasn’t changed much from what it used to be, just now that meaning is evaluated in a world with less major wars and conflicts. The member states are not trying to protect themselves from a certain enemy anymore, but they are actually trying to bring their troops together and resolve conflicts and wars in the parts of the world where they remain active. Their fundamental goal is “to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries by political and military means.” What this means is that the member countries are always secure and will always have allies to protect them since article five is still in function. The democratic values, personal liberties, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts are promoted throughout Euro-Atlantic area through NATO missions. So the NATO today is not only focused in trying to protect themselves, but its message is more contemporary and its struggle to fight war through promoting peace has a profound impact on a lot of the member states and other countries as well. All the member states come together and express their concerns and try to work out their issues in between all the other members. The relationship to the United States, Canada, and the European countries and their interaction through this alliance is a very important step in their goal of promoting peace.
It seems now that all the attention is drawn to developing countries especially those in Eastern Europe. Most of the international world organizations have been focused in this area and these countries potential to save the world’s current crisis. Even though it seems as a funky and ridicules statement it is not for no real reason that Eastern Europe is attracting so much attention now. Developed countries are trying to grow their markets in this area and train them on the fundamental principles of democracy since most of these countries have been ruled by communist dictators since the early 90s. However, the transition period for these countries and the sudden switch of the regime has not been an easy task. As a matter of fact it has proved to be devastating for a considerable number of the countries and major wars have been developed in between. Some of the most harsh and bloody wars of the past decades have taken place in the Balkans region. The Balkan region remains one of the poorest areas in the world and it has been troubled by major issues in the few past years. The countries in these region are struggling to be accepted in the NATO or the EU but it will need a few more years for these organizations doors to be opened to all the countries located in this region. Considering that most of these countries have been communist and have opposed to the NATO during that time period does not help the case. All the troubles within the country or between the countries have required for the NATO’s assistance in this region.
So, even though there is no more Cold War that NATO needs to take care of, its existence in the world today is a far cry to being passive. It has actually created new branches all over and some people may argue that its role is more important now then it was when it was first created. Its role in the Balkans region remains one of the most important missions and their influence in the area has been profound. They have helped to bring down bloody manifestations in places like: Kosovo, Bosnia, and Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. All these countries faced different issues that brought either wars within their ethnical groups, war with other countries in the region, or religious issues that brought vast killings. The war in Kosovo took place over territorial conflicts with Serbia. After the separation of Yugoslavia into different countries, the Albanians of Kosovo declaired the Republic of Kosovo as a separate area from Serbia. However, Serbian disagreed with the fact and tried to suppress the Kosovo people and claim the territory as theirs. No peaceful resolution of the conflict was found at that time (and none is found today even though the war has come to an end) so war broke out. The intervention of NATO in the Kosovo-Serbian war happened in June, 1999. At the year 2009, ten years later, the NATO troops remain in the country, but now to ensure that Kosovo’s independence declared on February 17, 2008 is not violated. There are still 14 000 troops that remain in Kosovo cooperating with KFOR, trying to promote democracy and making sure that the country develops stable social and economical reports. Bosnia and Herzegovina is another Balkan country that has profited from the NATO’s assistance. After their war from 1992-1995, the country was totally destructed and in great need for help. Like in Kosovo’s case, NATO help the country rebuild and sent in troops there to promote peace and help people get their lives back. NATO is currently helping the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina by helping them reform its defense structure, war against terrorism, and understating war-crime suspects. Since December 2006, Bosnia-Herzegovina is a partner of NATO and it has developed intensely since its intervention.
It seems like NATO is one of the most important organizations that is trying to promote peace and equality all around the world. This paper just analyzed a few aspects of what NATO has been doing since the aftermath of the Brussels conference 60years ago. When the Cold War was over, the NATO’s mission was thought to come to an end together with it but today NATO is not only an active alliance but one of the most effective as well. However, the mission of NATO has clearly changed 360° in the world today. Its fundamental principles have not changed and the idea of protecting each other in case of an external enemy attack remains the core value of the organization, but NATO is trying to promote peace and resolving conflicts through negotiations rather than wars. It has expanded in territories that before were named the enemies and is helping people in every corner of the world. NATO today is fighting Taliban forces in Afghanistan, protecting UN food ships from pirates in Somalia, and is training police in Iraq. NATO has opened its door to 28 members until now and is negotiating with possible new country members such as the FYROM. It has opened its door to the Eastern European countries by not just offering assistance but by allowing them to be part of the alliance. Albania and Croatia are the most recent members of the alliance joining the NATO on April, 2009. As its mission has expanded so has NATO. 13 years ago this organization counted only 16 members and today this number has increased overwhelmingly. NATO has shifted its mission from the Cold War to fighting against terrorism, peacekeeping, bringing countries closer together, and the war against nuclear arms. Even though the expansion of NATO is something good in the eyes of the general public there is more behind it that we may think. There are still countries that fear Russia and see it as a threat such as Poland. Also, despite the fact that the Cold War is over silent conflicts seem to always appear in the surface between NATO and Russia. One of this issues deals with Georgia and the attacks of Russia towards this country last year. Georgia is a partner member in NATO so there exists an obligation by the organizations side to help and defend Georgia but NATO still doesn’t want to create and start new major conflicts with Russia. So, every move NATO takes they have to be careful about it and have a solid and shaped strategy, in order not to cause conflicts when they are trying to promote peace. NATO’s mission has changed and yet remained the same. 60 years later it is not only the NATO which has changed but it is the world which has changed the most. The world doesn’t stand in the same position it did 60 years ago. Many conflicts that existed then have died by now but new conflicts have arisen in the today’s world and we are moving towards globalization. Having a much more international environment and being able to communicate with all the parts of the worlds makes an organization’s mission such as NATO’s easier and more challenging at the same time. The opening up of the Eastern European world and the Balkans region has been a completely separate task for NATO. Its mission has been successful and their struggles to promote peace and democracy in this area seem to have had an impact on it. NATO started and still remains an organization with member states that will look after each other in case of an external attack but its mission has developed further and has expanded to meet the needs of a new world. The fundamental goals however are set still there strong and clear for every member state as well as the other countries. NATO is just trying to keep up with the new threat developments and finding their own strategies to prevent major blood conflicts and resolve problems in a more peaceful manner. If the world wants to move towards globalization like it seems it is then the fight on terrorism, poverty, hunger, corruption, and territorial war must be successful otherwise the world will never be able to prospect wealthy future. Thus the slightly transformation of the NATO mission is a more contemporary one and is helping the world achieve its goals and fulfill a cause.

Work cited page:

NATO. July 7, 2009. History of SHAPE and Allied Command Operations. http://www.nato.int/shape/about/background2.htm North Atlantic Treaty Organization. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-45E6850F-D7FA32C9/natolive/what_is_nato.htm November 6, 2009. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Freedom http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/what_is_nato.htm October, 2009. NATO’s role in Kosovo. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48818.htm Goering, Laura. December 5, 2008. After 60 years, wrestling to reinvent NATO’s mission. Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-europe-nato_goering_05dec05,0,7439313.story --------------------------------------------
[ 1 ]. NATO. July 7, 2009. History of SHAPE and Allied Command Operations.

http://www.nato.int/shape/about/background2.htm
[ 2 ]. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-45E6850F-D7FA32C9/natolive/what_is_nato.htm [ 3 ]. July, 2009. The Creation of NATO’s Integrated Military Command Structure for Europe. http://www.nato.int/shape/about/background2.htm [ 4 ]. November 6, 2009. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Freedom http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/what_is_nato.htm [ 5 ]. November 6,2009. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Security http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/what_is_nato.htm [ 6 ]. 2009. What does NATO do? , Crisis Management http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/what_is_nato.htm [ 7 ]. October, 2009. NATO’s role in Kosovo. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_48818.htm [ 8 ]. October 26, 2009. Peace support operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_52122.htm [ 9 ]. Goering, Laura. December 5, 2008. After 60 years, wrestling to reinvent NATO’s mission. Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-europe-nato_goering_05dec05,0,7439313.story [ 10 ]. Goering, Laura. December 5, 2008. After 60 years, wrestling to reinvent NATO’s mission. Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-europe-nato_goering_05dec05,0,7439313.story