NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization

What is NATO?

A comprehensive overview of how NATO works, what it does and what it is.

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Discover NATO

A quick glance at NATO, its role, activities and members.

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NATO member and partner countries

A map of NATO member and partner countries

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A Short History of NATO

This short history describes NATO's historical evolution as a defensive Alliance from 1945 to the present day.

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Periodic Table of Elements

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Working together for peace and security

International organisations do not work in isolation. They complement each other to help create a peaceful environment in which economies can flourish and individuals prosper.

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NATO and Afghanistan - Questions & Answers

This brochure is intended to answer several important and frequently asked questions about NATO's role in Afghanistan.

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Tackling New Security Challenges

Some of the most important challenges facing NATO in the coming decades include terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber security, the threat of missile attack, energy security and piracy. This Briefing discusses the ways in which the Alliance aims to tackle these new security challenges.

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NATO's Military Committee

This brochure describes the work of the Military Committee, the role of the Chairman, the work of the International Military Staff, and how military decisions are arrived at in NATO.

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Deepening relations with Georgia

This Backgrounder gives an overview of NATO's relations with Georgia, which have deepened significantly since the early 1990s. Today, Georgia is an aspirant for NATO membership, actively contributes to NATO-led operations, and cooperates with the Allies and other partner countries in many other areas.

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NATO's Role in Energy Security

Five questions and answers explaining NATO's role in the field of energy security

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Countering Terrorism

The essence of NATO's role in the fight against terrorism is protecting people. NATO offers a unique range of assets to the international community. This Briefing explains the scope and type of activities NATO is undertaking to fight the scourge of terrorism.

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Partners in Central Asia

This Backgrounder explains NATO's relations and practical cooperation with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

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Women, Peace and Security

War and conflict often affect women and children more than men. Recognizing the important role women play in building peace, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on 31 October 2000. The Resolution called for an end to the historic inequality of male and female participation in resolving conflicts. This Briefing examines how NATO is working to protect women and children in its areas of operations and to increase the participation of women at every level to prevent future conflicts.

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Military matters: The beginnings of NATO's military structure: birth of the Alliance to the fall of the Berlin Wall

More than five decades since its founding, it is hard to imagine that NATO did not always have the complex military and political structures that have long been key features of its decision-making process. This issue examines the evolution of the work and structures of the top military decision makers of the Alliance through to 1989.

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Chicago Summit Guide

The Chicago Summit guide provides background information on NATO's current operations, capabilities and partnerships, as well as other key priorities such as the Smart Defence initiative.

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Secretary General’s Annual Report 2011

On 26 January, Anders Fogh Rasmussen launched the first ever ‘Annual Report’, which gives a brief overview of NATO’s principal achievements and challenges in 2011. This assessment of Alliance activities focuses on four areas: NATO operations, emerging security challenges, the modernization of NATO – its structures and capabilities - as well as NATO’s growing partnerships.

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NATO after Lisbon

This short text provides an overview of the major decisions, policies, and documents approved at the NATO Summit in Lisbon in November 2010.

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Strategic Concept 2010

The 2010 Strategic Concept 'Active Engagement, Modern Defence' is a very clear and resolute statement on NATO's values and strategic objectives for the next decade. Collective defence, crisis management and cooperative security are the Alliance's essential core tasks in today's transformed security environment, an environment the Alliance is equipping itself for both politically and militarily.

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Towards the new strategic concept - A selection of background documents

A compilation of key NATO strategy documents to understand the evolution and future development of NATO's strategic orientation. The collection includes the North Atlantic Treaty (1949), NATO's previous Strategic Concepts (1991 and 1999), the 2006 Comprehensive Political Guidance document and the 2009 Declaration on Alliance Security.

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North Atlantic Treaty

This PDF file contains the North Atlantic Treaty, more popularly known as the Washington Treaty, signed by the 12 founding members of the Alliance, as well as the Accession Protocols for the 16 countries which have joined the Organization since 1949.

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NATO Review - where the experts come to talk

NATO Review is an online magazine which comes out 10 times a year at www.nato.int/review. Published under the authority of the Secretary General, NATO Review is intended to contribute to a constructive discussion of Atlantic issues. Articles, therefore, do not necessarily represent official opinion or policy of member governments or NATO.

NATO Review

NATO Review: NATO in Chicago - coming home, moving forward

In this Chicago Summit special edition, NATO Review hears from some of security’s key players on how they see the security road ahead. President Barack Obama describes what it means to him to bring NATO to his hometown. NATO’s Secretary General Rasmussen sets out his vision for what can be achieved at Chicago and beyond. We hear stories of people as well as policies. We find out what it’s like to be from both sides of the Atlantic. And what role NATO has played in forming people’s lives.

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NATO Review: Road to 21st century security

The NATO Summit in Lisbon was one of the most important for many years. It not only set out how the Alliance would reshape to face new security challenges, but gave details of how this would be done. From its evolving role in Afghanistan to fighting terrorism, from working with new partners to increasing cyber defence and from a new NATO command structure to retaining old commitments, the Summit was a milestone in international security. NATO Review's special Summit print edition looks at some of the key issues the Alliance dealt with as it set out its first Strategic Concept since 1999.

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NATO 2020: Assured security; dynamic engagement

The report of the Group of Experts on NATO's new Strategic Concept comprises a summary of findings and a more detailed discussion of and recommendations on key issues, such as the security environment, core tasks, partnerships and Alliance capabilities. The report was aimed at assisting the Secretary General in drafting a new Strategic Concept for NATO, to be agreed by Allies at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010.

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