NATO Eastward Expansion| Research paper |21-july-2024
Introduction
The disagreements between the USA and USSR at the end of WWII set the stage of new rivalry in the form of the Cold War between Communist led USSR and the US led Western bloc. At this stage of history, creating a security regime became a widespread global practice. Western nations under the patronage of the USA jointly formed a security bloc called NATO, that would act as a bulwark against Soviet invasion.
By the end of the 20th century, the rivalry concluded with the USA prevailing over the communist USSR, establishing itself as the sole superpower that influenced and shaped global geopolitics for the subsequent two decades. However, the resurgence of Russia on the world stage under the leadership of Vladimir Putin and NATO’s aggressive response in the form of its movement towards bordering lines of Russia are fanning the flames of another Cold War. Some political scientists and strategic analysts have opined that the Russian invasion of Ukraine marked the onset of Cold War 2.0.
In the world of global politics, making allies and blocs is not a new thing. Through blocs’ countries cooperate in times of peace and conflicts, in order to achieve their national interests. The two deadliest wars of human history, World War I and World War II resulted in death of millions of people in the form of mass killing, starvation and nuclear attack. In between these two horrific events, the nation–states, particularly European countries, were divided. At this point of history, the shaping of alliances in the form of military blocs is not common to nation-states. However, with the end of WWII the two world powers, the USA with its Western allies on one side and USSR on the other side were caught in a decade-long war called the Cold War. This seismic shift in global affairs happened, around which world politics revolved for the next five decades. At this time, the emergence of the security regime became a global trend. European nations under the leadership of US, jointly formed Western bloc, laid the foundation of the security regime, on 14th of April 1949, namely called North Atlantic Treaty Organization, shortly pronounced as NATO.
NATO’s evolution during Cold War Period
Initially comprising 12 members, the bloc opened its membership to other countries that aligned with NATO’s objectives. The primary goal of this security alliance was collective defense, ensuring a unified response in the event of aggression against any member by communist adversaries. During the era of the Cold War the NATO membership expanded intermittently to include former Warsaw Pact countries and former Soviet republics in Central and Eastern Europe.
This expansion aimed to promote stability, democracy, and security in Europe and to integrate these countries into the Euro-Atlantic community. The strengthening of ties among NATO members and collective security measures exhausted the Eastern bloc, led by the USSR. By the end of 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall took place which had divided the world into two parts. This was a very blow for the Eastern bloc and the year 1991 marked the end of the Cold War with disintegration of the USSR into different sovereign states.
The victorious US became the sole superpower of the world. The change in global politics from the bipolar world to the unipolar, and the emergence of Russia out of the USSR provided a large space for the US to act as a global leader in framing global politics in its own way. NATO alliance, which still exists as a security tool for Western countries to thwart any security threats, took part in global operations from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan to protect Western interests, spanning all over the world.
NATO countries expanded membership to Eastern European countries such as Poland in 1999, Bulgaria in 2004, and Croatia in 2009. This eastward expansion was viewed as a concern by Russia, under Putin’s leadership, which seeks to reassert itself on the global stage. In the complex arena of global politics, dynamics are constantly shifting. The rise of China as a formidable economic power and Russia’s resurgence have posed challenges to Western dominance. Western nations, especially the US, perceive the ascent of China and Russia as threats to their global leadership.
The annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and Chinese global initiatives in the form of BRI has challenged Western superiority in framing global politics. Apart from these events, the alliance of China and Russia in the form of SCO, BRICS which in the eyes of some political intellects are the Eastern bulwark against NATO expansionism are setting the tone of Cold War 2.0.
Russia Invasion of Ukraine: The War Began
Russia and Ukraine share a complicated history that has impacted their economy, politics and culture. Ukraine gained independence from Russia, formerly called USSR, in 1991. For the next two decades, they maintained friendly relations with one another. However, things changed after the year 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula. This annexation resulted in deterioration of ties among neighborly countries.
The Maiden Revolution in Ukraine dethroned the president Vicktor Yanukovych, one of the main allies of Russia in Ukraine. Shortly after, the incoming government began to strengthen its ties with European nations. Political analysts argue that Kyiv increasing ties with Western countries, particularly NATO bloc, was one of the major reasons behind Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the tenure of President Zelensky, Ukraine strengthened its ties with Western nations and was eyeing to be a part of NATO bloc.
On the day of February 24, 2022, Ukraine was invaded by Russia. Its Eastern part of Donetsk and Luhansk, combinedly called Donbas region, was declared as independent by Russia. Two years have passed but the war is still ongoing. Western countries are providing support to Kyiv on all fronts. Diplomatically they are supporting Ukraine on international forums, like the United Nation Organization and attempting to isolate Russia in multilateral forums.
Whereas, on economic grounds, the Western nations are fueling billions of dollars into Kyiv’s account and seizure of Russian assets to paralyze it financially. On the military side, Western nations, particularly the US and UK, are arming Kyiv and hold military support as the top priority to deter Russia. The West is providing new weaponry and military equipment in the form of Patriot air defense system battery, munitions for rocket systems, and Javelin anti-tank weapons, F16s and many more in the list to thwart Russian troops in a must win war.
Conclusion
The recent meeting of the 32 Nations bloc, namely NATO, marking its 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington, where the Western countries has shown commitment to long-term support amid Russian invasion, pledged “long-term security assistance for Ukraine”, and voicing Ukraine entry into NATO bloc and ‘irreversible path’ amid Russia’s invasion make another Cold War inevitable. Thus, within foreign policy discourse, Cold War 2.0 is gaining traction. Until now, both countries, Russia and Ukraine have claimed victories with thousands of casualties and dead on both sides.
All these events that are happening in the neighboring part of Russia have convinced the political and defense analyst that the alarming bell of another Cold War has been rung and NATO’s eastward movement has set the stage of Cold War 2.0.
Follow Security Lense for more
Check out Latest news by Security Lense
Leave a Reply