Natopolitanism: The Atlantic Alliance since the Cold War

by Grey Anderson (Editor)

Did NATO cause the crisis in Ukraine?

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the fortunes of NATO—pronounced “braindead” only a few years prior—have been miraculously revived. The alliance, buoyed by surging European military budgets and inflows of combat-ready troops and cutting-edge hardware, looks forward to welcoming additional member states. Originally conceived as a bulwark against the Soviet Union, NATO has outlasted its ostensible foe by over three decades. Its geostrategic remit is limited to the North Atlantic in name only. Treaty obligations range from the Andes to the Gulf of Aden and the Khyber Pass, and allied commanders now prepare for battle in the South China Sea.

Natopolitanism takes an in-depth look at the evolution and aggrandizement of NATO since the turn of the 1990s. What purposes does NATO serve in the post-Cold War world? What is the balance sheet of a quarter century of alliance expansion, and what part did it play in the eruption of conflict on Europe’s eastern marches?

Contributors to the volume, including John J. Mearsheimer, Mary Elise Sarotte, Susan Watkins, Wolfgang Streeck, and Volodymyr Ishchenko, revisit this this history as it unfolded. Varying in viewpoint and judgment, all share a critical perspective at odds with wartime pieties.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2023

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erg goede essaybundel over de geschiedenis en ontwikkeling van de NAVO (mits je geinteresseerd bent in, laten we zeggen, een Verso-perspectief hierop).

Enige kritiekpunt is de wollige, cryptisch geschreven introductie. Als je nog niet zoveel over de NAVO weet, zou het daarnaast een aanrader zijn om eerst de conclusie van het boek te lezen.

[Jooseppi Räikkönen]

Yearly Christmas reading project is about NATO this time round. Really gets the spirits high, yknow?

[David Sogge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first-rate collection explains how, where and why NATO is back, with guns blazing. That's a major come-back. In 2019, France's President diagnosed NATO as nearly ‘brain dead’. Its reanimation today is thanks to new marching orders in a proxy war in Ukraine. But in bolstering US strategies, NATO also serves, as in the past, to shape opinion and policies. From its formal headquarters in Brussels and its military command centre in Norfolk, Virginia, it motivates think-tanks, academics, media bosses and lawmakers to sing from the same hymn book -- all to the satisfaction of major interest groups, arms-and-security-system coporations not least among them.

Some essays are decades old but have lost none of their relevance. Contributors range from seasoned academics whose pieces originally appeared in establishment journals such as Foreign Affairs, to a former CIA director and ambassador in Moscow, to historians and other observers associated with the New Left Review. A good place to begin is with the concluding chapter, which draws on the book’s main themes and lays out what's at stake as the world’s sheriff again rounds up its posse for military adventures (to be followed thereafter, in all likelihood, by costly humiliations).

[Faizel Bham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book - a collection of essays written by a variety of international relations experts, historians and geopolitical scholars - is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. For anyone looking to understand the root causes of the current war in Ukraine as well as the true nature and purpose of NATO, it is a must-read. It challenges conventional thinking, received wisdom and the dominant narratives of our present moment.

[Differengenera · Rating 4 out of 5]

decent collection of essays on NATO's recent history, its roots in anti-communist amerikan strategising in Europe and how western hegemony is falling off a cliff but intends to take much of the rest of humanity with it (we're so fucked haha). most of these previously published in New Left Review, especially as the volume goes on

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

challenges

As someone who works for the US Department of Defense with NATO this book really challenged my perceptions and assumptions. A series of articles from various authors written as chapters addresses NATO’s history, challenges, and future in the world order.

[Bernardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent primer on NATO is a must-read for anyone interested in really understanding the history and reality of Atlanticism beyond myths and slogans.

[Olivia Raiche-tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot, but it was a bit of a slog.

[Patrick Link · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing that was most clear is the inability of the European community to attend to its own security concerns.

[Fidel Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great and informative book.

[A L]

The decline of the US-NATO bloc from its world hegemonic position is clear today but apparently it was acknowledged and talked about within this institutional discourse for the last 12+ years.