The SAIS Review of International Affairs
For seven decades, the United States has prided itself in being a reliable and committed NATO partner, willing to protect all allies at all times. Today such assurances no longer appear rock-solid. … In this context, one is reminded of Czech-born writer Milan Kundera’s insightful words regarding the fate of small countries: “What distinguishes the small nations from the large is not the quantitative criterion of the number of their inhabitants; it is something deeper: for them their existence is not a self-evident certainty but always a question, a wager, a risk.”
Since the pivotal event of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s execution on Christmas Day 1989, and the subsequent fall of the Soviet Union, Romania has established itself as a friend to democratic values and to global security and stability. In less than 30 years, Romania has adjusted its economy to support capital markets, strengthened its institutions enough to gain membership into the European Union, and invested in its security and its internal values enough to gain membership into NATO.
Author Ali Cinar argues that leaders from both Turkey and NATO should reaffirm their mutual strategic commitments, as cooperation is imperative to advancing the interests of leaders in Turkey and other NATO partner countries, such as effectively fighting ISIS and managing other threats emanating from the Middle East.
Part 2 of 3 in a series on NATO by Nic Wondra It just has not sunk in yet. Somehow, The US’s (and therefore NATO’s) largest concern is the Russian Federation. The upcoming elections will bring a lot of issues to light, even if we see another Putin-Medvedev administration. The Western press seems to write […]