What kind of organization is NATO? Who does it protect, and from whom?
In recent months, there has been much talk about NATO in the media space. Below, we provide information about the history and present of this organization.
What kind of organization is NATO? Who does it protect, and from whom?
What does NATO mean?
The acronym NATO is taken from the first letters of the English name North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which translates as "Shimoliy Atlantika shartnomasi tashkiloti".
NATO is a military-political alliance established in 1949, and currently 32 independent states are its members. 30 of them are located in Europe, and two more — Canada and the USA — are in North America. Since these two parts of the world are separated by the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, the treaty that formed the basis of NATO in 1949 was named the "North Atlantic Treaty". The following are the main goals arising from the content of the treaty:
- to safeguard the democracy, individual liberty and the freedom of peoples based on the rule of law, their common heritage and civilization;
- to strengthen stability and increase well-being in the North Atlantic area;
- to organize collective defense and maintain peace and security;
- to contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations;
- to seek to eliminate conflict in their international economic policies;
- to increase individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack.
The main pillar of the treaty is its fifth article. According to it, an armed attack against one or more member states in Europe or North America is considered an attack against the entire alliance. In such a situation, each member state will assist the state that has been attacked and will take such action as it deems necessary for this purpose. These actions may also include the use of armed force.
NATO has two official languages: English and French. The organization's flag is blue, with an image of a white compass indicating wind directions inside a circle in the center. The dark blue background signifies the Atlantic Ocean, the circle signifies unity among member states, and the compass signifies the path toward peace. The headquarters of the NATO alliance is located in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.