The Slow Demise of NATO as a Global Actor
The recent news that the Dutch government fell due to its desire to maintain a contingent of troops in Afghanistan under the NATO banner should be quite concerning for advocates that NATO will be able to act as security alliance outside the confines of Europe itself. Even Lord George Robertson, a former NATO Secretary General expressed serious concerns in this piece.
This Atlantic Community piece prompted my below comments which I think dovetail quite a bit with what Lord Robertson states.
"It will be interesting if some other NATO member steps up to the plate and offers additional forces to make up for the pending loss of the Dutch. I suspect someone will, but it will be very limited in size and probably limited in terms of what their rules of engagement might be.
Overall, this is not that significant an event on its face, however, it may be a portent of things to come. To me, this is just a single example of why I am skeptical of the utility of transnational institutions on many issues. Absent an "existential" issue that unifies many different (and often competing nations), it is difficult to maintain a stable front when confronting challenges that require long-term committments, but are also subterranean or diffuse.
While I question whether Afghanistan can be put together in the way many in the West seem to want, and have argued this in article I previously wrote for the Atlantic Community, the Dutch case is indicative of a large problem for NATO that it may not be able to fundamentally resolve. Without the Soviet empire looming to the east, NATO has simply been unable to find and embrace a broad based, yet coherent strategic concept that gives it the impetus to continue being the "greatest alliance" in world history. By contrast, it seems more of a regional security mechanism that is trying to show itself capable of more than its infrastructure can actually bear.
NATO will always have a usefulness for intra-European issues like the Kosovo situation in the late 90s, but it will not be able to punch at its expected weight in external situations unless it has to to confront a threat of large proportion.
This isn't meant to denigrate NATO or suggest it be ignored. It is merely a call that policymakers begin adapting their plans to reflect an underlying reality as opposed to continuing to foist unrealistic objectives upon it.
Dealing with Afghanistan will require working with regional partners who have more at stake than the Europeans."
This Atlantic Community piece prompted my below comments which I think dovetail quite a bit with what Lord Robertson states.
"It will be interesting if some other NATO member steps up to the plate and offers additional forces to make up for the pending loss of the Dutch. I suspect someone will, but it will be very limited in size and probably limited in terms of what their rules of engagement might be.
Overall, this is not that significant an event on its face, however, it may be a portent of things to come. To me, this is just a single example of why I am skeptical of the utility of transnational institutions on many issues. Absent an "existential" issue that unifies many different (and often competing nations), it is difficult to maintain a stable front when confronting challenges that require long-term committments, but are also subterranean or diffuse.
While I question whether Afghanistan can be put together in the way many in the West seem to want, and have argued this in article I previously wrote for the Atlantic Community, the Dutch case is indicative of a large problem for NATO that it may not be able to fundamentally resolve. Without the Soviet empire looming to the east, NATO has simply been unable to find and embrace a broad based, yet coherent strategic concept that gives it the impetus to continue being the "greatest alliance" in world history. By contrast, it seems more of a regional security mechanism that is trying to show itself capable of more than its infrastructure can actually bear.
NATO will always have a usefulness for intra-European issues like the Kosovo situation in the late 90s, but it will not be able to punch at its expected weight in external situations unless it has to to confront a threat of large proportion.
This isn't meant to denigrate NATO or suggest it be ignored. It is merely a call that policymakers begin adapting their plans to reflect an underlying reality as opposed to continuing to foist unrealistic objectives upon it.
Dealing with Afghanistan will require working with regional partners who have more at stake than the Europeans."
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