Global NATO or Global Partnerships?

In the run-up to the NATO Summit in Riga in November 2006, a debate on both sides of the Atlantic has now evolved over NATO’s global engagement that touches on the very foundations of NATO’s original purpose and definition. Critically, the debate is no longer about wether NATO should go ‘out of area or out of business’ but whether the Alliance should enlarge on a global level from Vancouver to Tokyo and Wellington. In order to place this debate into the recent historical context of the Alliance, this article examines U.S.-European security relations since September 11 within the institutional framework of NATO and, subsequently, draws conclusions for the future role of the Alliance. As the transatlantic community faces security threats of inherently global nature such as internationally organized terrorism and crime, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, collapse or lack of state structures in certain regions, and ruptures in the stable supply of energy resources, NATO will have to define its role as a global security actor if it wishes to avoid becoming a mere service provider of security.