US Government, History Jonathan Milner US Government, History Jonathan Milner

How many nations are members of NATO?

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

  1. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance of 32 countries (30 European nations, the United States, and Canada). Founded in 1949, the alliance was one of the cornerstones of the West's defense strategy during the Cold War with the Soviet Union (which today is roughly equivalent to Russia), with an attack on one member considered to be an attack on all of them. Sweden just became the 32nd member of NATO. Based on the gorgeous map above, what has happened to the size and shape of NATO since its inception?

  2. What European nations (I was surprised, too) are not members of NATO (are they called NOTO?)?

  3. NATO’s declared open door policy included in its founding treaty makes membership an option for sovereign nations. The organization that started out in 1949 among 12 nations has since then attracted new members, especially in the past two decades, from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Why do you think NATO keeps expanding?

  4. Finland formally joined NATO last year as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization celebrated its 74th anniversary. Now, with Hungary’s approval, Sweden has joined NATO. How do you think Russia (basically, the big gray area to the East of Europe on the map above) feels about this expansion of NATO?

  5. In what way has the expansion of NATO impacted relations between Russia and the U.S.?

  6. The principle of collective defense (an attack on one is an attack on all) is at the very heart of NATO’s founding treaty. It remains a unique and enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance. Collective defense is enshrined in Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty and means that an attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies. Ukraine currently aspires to join NATO. If Ukraine joined NATO what would that force the U.S. government to do?

  7. Here is the State Department’s official U.S. policy supporting Ukraine. What do you think the U.S. should do regarding allowing Ukraine to join NATO?

  8. The US just ended its longest ever war, withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Although we are allied with Ukraine we have not actively begun to fight Russia in Ukraine. Do you think the US currently has the appetite to begin actively fighting a new war in Ukraine?

  9. NATO's eastward expansion has been a thorn in Putin’s side for a long time. “Any further NATO movement to the east is unacceptable", Putin said in December 2021, two months before the invasion of Ukraine began. "Putin wanted less NATO along his borders," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement ahead of today's celebrations. "He is getting exactly the opposite. He is getting more troops, more readiness, more forces, land, sea and air in the eastern part of the Alliance. And he is getting more members." Make a claim about who is losing the war between NATO and Russia.

  10. Considering the upcoming election with President Biden - supporting Ukraine, and Former President Trump - expressing his desire to stop supporting Ukraine; explain the likelihood of a war between the US and Russia.

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

Tweet @ or otherwise contact Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken (who, like me, is a very amateur guitarist!) and let him know what you think of U.S. involvement with Ukraine. Also, you can download Secretary Blinken’s official glamor shot/photo

Mail: 2201 C St NW Washington, DC 20520
Phone: 202-647-6575
Email: secretary@state.gov

https://twitter.com/secblinken

Get Creative

If NATO were an restaurant chain, what would it be?

Learning Extension*

 
 

Check out our GoPo Glossary

Read More