North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is one of the oldest military alliances. It was formed by member states to counter the rising Soviet power after World War II. All the countries uphold their individual rights as well as their international obligations that are by the Charter of the United Nations. Also, the member states must be committed to sharing risks and responsibilities as well as benefits and should not enter into any other agreement that is in conflict with the organization. The membership of the alliance has been increasing over the years, and this has consequently led to the expansion of its role. The inclusion of Greece, West Germany, Spain and Czech Republic has increased the membership to 19 states and hence the role has substantially expanded.

The fundamental role of the alliance was to ensure international peace and stability that many Western leaders thought was threatened by the existence of USSR. It was a military alliance that aimed at realizing collective defense and prevents events of the war in their territories from the communist nations. The intention of some countries such as Russia and its nuclear weapons has expanded the role of NATO (Krassimir,2006). It is the responsibility of the alliance to ensure that no country produces weapons of mass destruction to ensure peace and stability in all parts of the world and not necessarily to the member states. NATO has the responsibility of dealing with increasing cases of terrorism that are experienced in the world today. Terrorist groups are not necessarily from the communist nation, and this explains why the role of NATO has been expanding over the years.

Besides the security matters, NATO members have the responsibility of ensuring that they have stable economies. For instance, energy supply among the member states is essential and hence a matter of paramount importance to the council. It is, therefore, prudent for NATO to ensure that they practical and logistical approach to handling and protect energy supply amongst its members.   Energy supply, especially petroleum, is of paramount importance to the security and stability of the member states. The Ukraine-Gazprom gas dispute of 2006 was an eye opener on the need for member states to discuss matters of energy security (Krassimir,2006).

There has also been a significant rise in piracy and terrorism in the recent years. Fight against the terror groups and the pirates will only succeed through disarmament, arms controls and non-proliferation. As a result, the alliance must be proactive in such activities that are essential to global peace and stability. NATO must take a leading role in the fight against terrorism due to their collective defense approach (Sarwar,2011). Besides, the functions of the alliance may expand beyond its original purpose in the cases of drug trafficking increases, especially in America. Since America is a member, there is a high likelihood that member states may engage in the fight against drug trafficking especially in Mexico and other parts of South America.  In essence, the role of NATO will expand over the years and solve global challenges as they arise.

References

Ambassador Georg Witschel, “Global Terrorism: Trends and Response”, keynote speech at the International Conference on Terrorism in South Asia: Impact on Development and Democratic Process, Kathmandu, Nepal, Nov. 23-25, 2002.

Andrew Monaghan, “Energy Security: NATO’s Limited, Complementary Role”, NATO Defence College, Research Division, Research Paper No. 36 (2008), pp. 1-2

“NATO’s Response to Terrorism”, 6 December 2001, quoted in Krassimir Kuzmanov, ‘Does NATO have a role in the fight against international terrorism? Analysis of NATO’s response to September 11’, Information and Security: An International Journal, Vol. 19, No. 1 (2006) p. 78.

Richard Jackson et al, Terrorism: A Critical Introduction (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan 2011) Box 6.4 ‘The terrorist threat in empirical context’

Sarwar Kashmeri, NATO 2.0: Reboot or Delete? (Washington D.C.: Potomac Books, 2011), pp. 136 and 137

 
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