How To Make NATOs Role Better Understood?

Nelly Tsekova
Public Administration Major, 1st year
Faculty of Philosophy
Sofia University St. Kliment Ochridsky

NATO at a crossroad
When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in April 1949 at the height of
Cold War tension, it had a clear strategic objective: to deter and defend against the threat real or
perceived of the Soviet Union. It also had a political objective, that of upholding Western
democratic values based on the rule of law and the freedom of the individual. The Western Alliances
raison detre was vindicated some forty years later with the collapse of the communist system in
Eastern Europe followed by the disintegration of the USSER itself.
In November 2001, one of Europes top security policy analysts, Francois Heisbourg, pronounced
that NATO is dead. If that is the case, what will take its place as the main political and
institutional link between Europe and the United States? This essay will argue that the need for
transatlantic security co-operation did not expire along with the Soviet Union, and that NATO still
has an essential role to play in fostering transatlantic relations. At the same time, since the
international security environment has changed radically, there is a definite need for NATO to
promote its core values and the importance of its role in order for the Alliance to remain a key part
of the transatlantic relationship.
The need for better public diplomacy
In politics, perceptions of reality are often more important and more dangerous than reality itself.
This is probably the case in all cultures and civilizations, but it is especially true for NATOs image.
Although the Alliance has always been both a political and a military organization, its Cold War
stereotypical image was very much that of a military alliance. Therefore, the organization is still
viewed rightly or wrongly from a perspective that is heavily laden with historical baggage.
Today, the need for better outreach is more apparent than ever. After undergoing its latest expansion
in 2004, NATO has 26 members and 14 major allies. Three more countries Croatia, Albania and
the Republic of Macedonia are also expected to be invited to join the Alliance at the forthcoming
2008 Bucharest Summit. It is now becoming increasingly difficult to deal with the expectations and
the requirements of all member states.
The activities related to public diplomacy are instrumental in preserving and consolidating the public
interest and support for NATO. Ensuring a better public information and knowledge on NATO
issues, building awareness about NATOs ongoing transformation and adaptation process to the new
security threats is a key aspect for consolidating the public support.
Methods for improving the understanding of NATOs role
NATOs public diplomacy should be aimed at informing the general public about NATO, its
organization and activities. Lately, the focus has been on informing the general public of the

necessity of cooperation in the field of security on both sides of the Atlantic. Now several more areas
of interest that need substantial public support may be identified:
- further enlargement of the organization;
- the importance of NATO or NATO-led operations;
- NATO transformation process in order to face the new kind of security threats;
- the importance of cooperation between NATO and partner countries, the countries of the
Mediterranean Dialogues and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, the countries of the Caucasus and
Central Asia;
While all of the above comprise important areas, I will focus on the first two areas as I believe they
are crucial to the role of NATO as a transatlantic security bridge and in the same time both represent
a challenge towards NATOs perception.
NATOs enlargement has been a huge success and it has added political and military value to the
Alliance. Therefore, it is important that the door remains open for new members. The logic direction
of the enlargement process lies to the East where several states once part of the Eastern Block are
now contemplating a NATO membership. Such countries include Croatia, Albania, Macedonia
(which are expected to be invited very soon), but also the two former Soviet republics of Ukraine
and Georgia as well as other countries in the region like Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina which
can be seen as a part of a more distant process of enlargement. Such enlargement would not be an
easy process as it has to deal with both internal and external opposition. There is still persisting
opposition in most of the abovementioned countries which builds on the old perception that NATO
is a threat rather than security guarantee. Also, there is even stronger opposition coming from
Russia. NATO has to muster all its diplomatic skills and to persist in deepening the Russian
relationship. Most people in the West once looked at Russia as part of the problem, but no more.
Today, Russia is very much part of the solution. Nothing shows a new generation how much
progress has been made more than NATO-Russia closeness, and nothing will give a stronger signal,
to both our people and the terrorists, of the new global spine-stiffening than outputs and decisions
from the NATO-Russia Council. It represents not just the end of the Cold War, but also the creation
of a new strategic geology. There are bound to be differences, and there may be security challenges
that could be resolved without Russia. But there are many more security challenges that can only be
resolved with it: terrorism, proliferation, ballistic missiles, crisis management, and these are just the
most obvious. At present, some 30% of Russians consider NATO as a threat to its national security.
Therefore, improving the relationship with Russia is a key factor for NATOs successful
enlargement and for strengthening its perception as a security partner. The broad spectrum of public
diplomacy events may include visits to NATO Headquarters for various representatives (journalists,
high school and university students, professors, researchers, central and local authorities, NGO
experts, etc), seminars, conferences, roundtables, and exhibits which stimulate and respond to the
issues of interest for the public opinion and, at the end of the day, bring the Alliance closer to he
people.
The other area that could help improving NATOs image is its operations. Here there is also a certain
room for improvement. It has to do mainly with the Alliances as it is seen by the outside states, and
especially Muslim and Arab states that form the majority of Europes neighborhood. NATO is
usually and wrongly perceived as the spearhead of the Western world, as a sort of Christian,

armed and aggressive alliance. Even though NATOs image in the Muslim world is generally
negative, it is not irreversibly so. This is partly because the level of knowledge of the Alliance is still
low and partly because NATO is able to present itself as an organization that has a history of
supporting Muslim communities. First of all, since 1952 there has been a well-known NATO
member Muslim country Turkey. Moreover, NATO has intervened twice in order to protect
Muslim populations: in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994) and in Kosovo (1999). Both operations
undoubtedly help stabilize the Balkans because Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are now clearly
more stable and improving countries and the whole area is on the path towards Partnership for Peace
and towards future although distant integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures. Most recently,
the Alliance has been playing an increasingly significant role in stabilization operations in
Afghanistan since 2003, which is clearly of great benefit to that countrys Muslim population. Such
success should not be neglected and NATO has the right to counter any ongoing criticism on that
basis about its involvement in different operations. NATO has to wok towards increasing the public
awareness that its activities are guided not by double standards but rather by strategic security
concerns. The organization has supported the strengthening of democratic institutions and renewing
political dialogue in the Western Balkans which has proven of critical importance to securing the
regions stability. However, given its limited resources, NATO cannot hope to communicate with
and promote its new regional initiatives among all sectors of Arab opinion and will therefore have to
target its public diplomacy efforts. In this way, the Allies will, for example, have to choose whether
to focus attention on elites or to seek to influence and inform wider public opinion. While the two
approaches are not mutually exclusive, they require different tactics. Targeting countries elites is
clearly easier and will likely generate more immediate results. But ultimately, NATO must also
address its image among the wider public.
Finally, NATOs public image and credibility, and therefore its ability to be effective, depend very
much on its operation capabilities and achievements. Military capability is the crucial underpinning
of our security. It directly translates into political credibility. As former UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan once said, you can do a lot with diplomacy, but you can do a lot more with diplomacy backed
up by the threat of force. The more military capabilities you have available, the less you may need to
use them. If NATO becomes a noise box with no ability to act, it will wither and die. As nations ask
and expect NATO to do more, and as the ambitions of politicians to tackle the worlds hot spots
increase, the capabilities the Alliance needs will be for the future, not those we acquired for old
enemies. This means more wide-bodied aircraft, and fewer heavy tanks, more precision guided
weapons, more deployable logistic support troops, ground surveillance systems, and protection
against chemical and biological weapons. The military forces of today and tomorrow need to be
slimmer, tougher, and faster. They need to be able to reach further and stay in the field longer.
Conclusion
The April 2008 Bucharest Summit is only a month away. It will seek to build on former success,
strengthening NATOs capacity and its global reach to undertake missions with partners around the
globe. NATO remains the most important instrument of the transatlantic democratic community to
deal with security challenges today and tomorrow. And for the success of its mission, the
organization needs all the support and confidence it could get.