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Map of NATO enlargement (1952–present). The history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) begins in the immediate aftermath of World War II.In 1947, the United Kingdom and France signed the Treaty of Dunkirk and the United States set out the Truman Doctrine, the former to defend against a potential German attack and the latter to counter Soviet expansion.
NATO in 2024. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an international military alliance consisting of 32 member states from Europe and North America. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. Of the 32 member countries, 30 are in Europe and two are in North America.
NATO member states agreed to establish four additional battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, [47] and elements of the NATO Response Force were activated for the first time in NATO's history. [52] As of June 2022, NATO had deployed 40,000 troops along its 2,500-kilometre-long (1,550 mi) Eastern flank to deter Russian aggression.
Emerging from World War II, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established by 10 European countries, the United States and Canada to form a bulwark against the communist-ruled Soviet Union.
Negotiations in London and Paris in 1954 ended the allied occupation of West Germany and allowed for its rearmament as a NATO member. Twelve countries were part of NATO at the time of its founding: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
France is a founding member of NATO and played an active role in its establishment. Since NATO's creation in 1949, France has consistently upheld its membership, both in the political and military spheres.
Article 5 has been invoked only once in NATO history, after the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. [ 51 ] [ 52 ] The invocation was confirmed on 4 October 2001, when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty. [ 53 ]
Western officials, including the leaders of those “new NATO” countries, view all those measures as purely defensive. Putin, they note, is not the kind of leader who makes neighbors comfortable.