KEY RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATO

NATO has proved more resilient than some expected after the Cold War. That is due largely to the political dimension, which policymakers consciously emphasized when choosing to expand the alliance. NATO enlargement has helped stabilize security relations in Central and Eastern Europe, reducing the risk of some forms of shocks and hence enhancing alliance resilience. However, its contributions to democratization and development have been more limited than some anticipated, and those remain challenging areas for many current potential candidates.

Pursuant to NATO’s goals of deterrence and defense, crisis prevention and management, and cooperative security, its leaders should continue working to promote civil, military, and political resilience at both the domestic and collective levels. Enlargement can reinforce resilience by helping to mitigate the risk of shocks in areas formerly outside the alliance, expanding allied operational capacities, and facilitating crisismitigating cooperation. Enlargement alone cannot guarantee the democratic and economic foundations of civil resilience, but it can help shape the strategic environment and relieve pressures that would otherwise remain sources of potential threat.