Think tank europe

All is well on the NATO front - NATO's role is essentially unchanged
11/03/2010
Author : Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS - Denmark)
By Trine Flockhart
 
The popular perception of the role of NATO was famously defined by NATO’s first Secretary General, Lord Ismay, as “keeping the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down”. NATO’s role is still essentially to keep its members safe from threats, to ensure the cohesion of the transatlantic relationship, and to transform relations between former foes. However, behind this alluringly simple description of NATO, lie complex “self”, “we” and “other” definitions and perceptions of roles and relevant functional tasks. This paper seeks to unravel some of the complex processes of constituting and re-constituting NATO’s roles. By utilizing a combination of role theory and social identity theory the paper traces how NATO has been engaged in complex and simultaneous processes of having a role set defined for it, whilst also being deeply involved in constructing its own identity and the identity of its member states, prospective member states and partners.

Download
 
Keyword search
 
Report inappropriate content
You need to be logged in to rate and comment on articles.
Click the log in or register button in the top right corner of this page.
Add rating
 
Back to ArticleList
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Europe's World - AUTUMN 2011 - #19
The Autumn 2011 issue of Europe's World is out!

We feel it's fair to say that few if any publications in the field of international relations and policy debate have grown as fast or widened their scope so remarkably as Europe's World.

Our 100,000 readers worldwide are drawn from politics, government, business, the media, universities and NGOs.
 
Advertisement



Vox Pop - Have your say...
WHAT IS THE EU’S ROLE IN AN INCREASINGLY POLARISED WORLD??
 


What do YOU think?
Please leave your comments at the end of the article 

 

le plus populaire du journal
le plus populaire de communité
le plus populaire des partenaires
Logon