What Is NATO? History, Countries, Mission, and Funding

TheIndonesia.id - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO is an alliance of 30 nations bordering the North Atlantic Ocean. The alliance includes the United States, most members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Turkey. 

What is NATO?

NATO is a military alliance between the United States, Canada, and their European allies. NATO was created after World War II to maintain peace and promote political cooperation on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

NATO Member States

Quoting thebalance.com, there are 30 members of NATO:

Albania
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
French
German
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Montenegro
Dutch
North Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spanish
Turkey
English
United States of America.

Each member country designates an ambassador to NATO, and an officer to serve on NATO committees. They may include a country's president, prime minister, foreign minister, or head of the defense department.

On December 1, 2015, NATO announced its first expansion since 2009, offering membership to Montenegro. Russia responded by calling the move a strategic threat to its national security. Russia is concerned about the number of Balkan countries along its borders that have joined NATO.

What is NATO's mission?

NATO's mission is to protect the freedoms of its members and the stability of its territories. Targets include weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. 

A key aspect of this alliance was that "an armed attack against one Ally is considered an attack against all Allies." In other words, if someone attacks one of the NATO countries, all NATO countries will retaliate.

NATO protection does not extend to member civil wars or internal coups. During the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, for example, NATO did not intervene on either side of the conflict. As a member of NATO, Turkey will receive the support of its allies in the case of an attack, but not in the case of a coup.

NATO Funding Sources

NATO is funded by its members. The United States accounts for about three-quarters of NATO's budget. Only 10 countries have reached the target spending level of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The United States is expected to spend 3.52 percent of its GDP on defense in 2021.

History of NATO

NATO's founding members signed the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949, in cooperation with the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. This organization was formed during the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference.

NATO's main goal is to defend member countries from threats by communist countries. The United States also wants to maintain a presence in Europe. 

NATO seeks to prevent the rise of aggressive nationalism and to promote political unity. In this way, NATO makes the formation of the European Union possible. US military patronage provided European nations with the safety needed to rebuild after the devastation of World War II.