The future of NATO: between territorial defense and out-of-area operations

This diploma thesis deals with the development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) emphasizing the Alliance's capability to adequately adapt to the ever- changing security environment. Using the historical turning points and the experiences gained during the various activities the dissertation's focus is on the future of NATO. The first part of the thesis consists of an overview of the four main stages of the NATO development. The first phase (1949-1990) is the Cold War period, when the member states' emphasis was to build a strong collective defense but at the same time they established liberal democratic system and accepted common values. The new countries have adopted these domestic governance standards and institutions proving the effective assertion of the liberal institutionalism doctrine. The second stage (1990-2001) was represented by emerging new security challenges and the Alliance reacted to this by adapting the crisis management policy and launched out of area operations. This new period could be characterized the best by the metaphor of the former CIA director, James Woolsey, who in 1993 stated in front of the Congress: "We have slain a large dragon, but we live now in a jungle filled with a bewildering variety of poisonous snakes. And in many ways, the dragon was easier..