Introduction

Abstract

In his introduction, Mulchinock offers a summary of the key issues to be analysed in the upcoming chapters regarding the two-decade long involvement of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in the Western Balkans. NATO’s roles in both the conflict and post-conflict phases are addressed critically by means of an additional framework analysis shortly to be explained (see pp.00–00). This framework involves the incorporation of three distinct ‘levels of analysis’ in the examination of significant decisions/turning points in the Western Balkans from 1991 onwards. These ‘levels of analysis’ entail the evaluation of the position of important NATO powers at critical points, NATO’s interactions with other international organisations, along with the role of different NATO Secretaries-General in driving forward or curtailing NATO policy at decisive moments.