NATO: Purpose, History, Members and Alliances Essay

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an international alliance that was established in 1949 and mostly focuses on collective security. Currently, it consists of 28 members and has built numerous partnerships with other regions. The Headquarters is the primary center that hosts thousands of conferences each year. It is located in Brussels, the capital of Belgium (see map. 1).

NATO Headquarters
Map. 1. NATO Headquarters.

The central purpose of the organization it to guarantee the safety of its members. Also, it considers the threats to other countries because it may affect the overall strength and security of the regions (Amadeo par. 4). It was formed as a way to respond to threats from the Soviet Union. However, the overall goal of the organization has changed over the years and now it has other imperative missions.

The alliance actively participates in operations against piracy. It has been one of the biggest issues and needed an intervention. The primary goal is to prevent and limit attacks of the pirates because the safety of one of the most important maritime routes was under the threat. The overall security of the region near the Suez Canal has gradually increased over the years. The organization is still involved in some of the operations in Somalia (Croft par. 1).

Also, it actively cooperates with Afghanistan because the country is in need of external help. The alliance provides aid and addresses current issues such as problems with the security of the country, financial aid, and underdeveloped security forces. It has been one of the hardest operations for NATO because some of the points were hard to solve. Currently, there is also a mission in Kosovo. The aim is to make sure that citizens are safe, and the region is stable. The situation has dramatically improved since the beginning of the operation in 1999, but the presence of forces is still necessary (BBC News Online par. 20).

Operation Active Endeavour also has to be discussed. The primary mission is to deter and prevent any actions that are associated with terrorism in the Mediterranean Sea. It is quite successful at making sure that ships and vessels are safe. Necessary measures are taken to guarantee maritime security. It is paramount to say that the organization has had an essential role in the war on terrorism. Also, the alliance has addressed the situation in Ukraine and has initiated trust funds that would help to solve current issues. ISIS is also acknowledged as a significant threat.

It is imperative to say that membership requirements have changed over the years. One of the most paramount factors is that a country should provide a range of benefits to the organizations to be eligible. Political and military aspects are considered to be the most important. The alliance provides the necessary support to the ones that aspire to become a part of it, and the final decision is based on the consensus of all the members (NATO par. 5).

In conclusion, it is hard to argue with the fact that this organization has helped to regulate and address some of the most important global issues since its foundation. It is extremely active and takes cultural and religious factors into consideration during its operations. Overall, all the countries that are members of the organization are well-developed, and the alliance is an incredibly powerful global force from the perspective of political geography.

Works Cited

Amadeo, Kimberly. . n.d. Web.

BBC News Online. . 2015. Web.

Croft, Adrian. . 2014. Web.

NATO. . 2015. Web.

NATO Headquarters []. 2015. Scale undetermined; generated by Your Name; using “Google My Maps”.

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