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An Institution Evolves

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Book cover NATO in the First Decade after the Cold War

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Abstract

Any attempt to trace NATO’s evolution can sensibly begin by analysing what its founding treaty has to say. Contrary to popular belief the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington D.C. on 4 April 1949, places no automatic obligation on its signatories to come to the assistance of allies under attack. Article 5 merely requires each signatory to take ‘such action as it deems necessary’ leaving the door open in theory for allies to opt to do nothing at all.1 Nor are the treaty provisions of unlimited duration. Article 12 allows any of the signatories to call a review conference at any time following the tenth anniversary of the treaty’s entry into force (i.e. from 1959). More importantly, under the terms of Article 13 any signatory can give twelve months notice of its intention to withdraw altogether after the treaty had been in force for twenty years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK

    Martin A. Smith

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  1. Martin A. Smith
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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Smith, M.A. (2000). An Institution Evolves. In: NATO in the First Decade after the Cold War. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9367-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9367-0_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5583-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-9367-0

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