WILLING OR WANING? NATO's Role in an Age of Coalitions

Twenty years after the great debate over NATO's future at the end of the Cold War, they appear to have come full circle -- back to the future, in John Mearsheimer's words. Its instrumental role in pacifying the Balkans, its major commitment in Afghanistan, and its recent operation in Libya notwithstanding, the role and relevance of the alliance appear no more certain today than they were when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. The persistent uncertainty about NATO's role during the past two decades largely stems from the increasingly situational nature of security policy in the post-cold War era. At the same time, the Atlantic alliance retains its own specific strengths, particularly in situations requiring a sustained, large-scale operational commitment. In the long term, however, its values-based, resource-backed, and institutionally integrated approach has clear advantages. Rather than regard them as a challenge, NATO should therefore welcome coalitions of the willing as a useful addition to the transatlantic crisis management toolbox.