NATO: IDENTIFYING NEW TRENDS WITHIN AN OLD RELATIONSHIP

NATO is a resilient organization that has stood on the vanguard of European defense for over seventy years. NATO is an organization that links North America and Europe together. Over time, a relationship of trust and respect has formed between these two entities. The relationship developed from a common threat, and it has been rooted in US leadership and resources. This trend persisted during most of NATO’s history. However, emerging trends of European ascendency begin to surface, initially in the 1960s and then gaining momentum in the 1990s and early 21st Century. These trends are shown both politically, through the emergence of a collective political European identity (EU), and militarily through several European lead NATO operations (KFOR, Operations Active Endeavor / Ocean Shield, and Unified Protector). These emerging trends are a rebalancing of NATO’s leadership and not a reversal of the US and European relationship.