The Civics of NATO

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By the end of World War II in 1945, tensions between the United States and Great Britain with the Soviet Union, nations that were allies during the war, had become more intense as post-war negotiations took place. See, Europe.unc.edu. [i] Russia, during the WWII era was governed by the Soviet Union, or specifically, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which was the head of the Soviet Union. See, ww2b.com. [ii] In 1945, these allies met in Yalta, a resort city located along the Black Sea coast of the Crimean Peninsula. The purpose was to discuss the fate of Germany and the rest of Europe. The allies met again in Potsdam Germany, as concerns over the actions of the Soviet Union grew. See, History.com. [iii]

By 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created as a political and military alliance in the aftermath of World War II. NATO was created to respond to the threat posed by the Soviet Union and to deter Soviet expansionism. See, nato.int. [iv] The original members of NATO were the United States, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. See, Britannica.com. [v] Today, the NATO alliance consists of 30 independent member countries from North America and Europe. See, nato.int. [vi]

To counterbalance NATO, the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955, lasting until 1991. This was followed by the dissolution of the Soviet Union later that year. See, nato.int. [vii]

Why is this important?

Why do we need to know this?

Ukraine, before its independence in 1991, was officially called the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Its government is now democratically elected. See, Britannica.com. [viii] An April 2022 article in the New York Times describes the Russian invasion of a much smaller Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The invasion was in response to the loss of Ukraine and other republics when the Soviet Union dissolved and was an attempt to weaken and push back the NATO alliance. See, NY Times April 2022. [ix]

commons.wikimedia.org [x]

However, Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion and weapons provided by the United States and other NATO members have so far thwarted Russian attempts to prevail and annex Ukraine. There is no legitimate justification for the invasion. Moreover, although NATO has rejected sending troops (See, apnews.com), [xi] the actions of Russia have strengthened NATO’s resolve and have sparked discussions of the possibility of additional nations, such as Finland and Sweden, to join NATO. See, cnn.com. [xii]

Russian success in Ukraine would deal a blow to democracy abroad, encourage Russia to continue on its path to annexing those republics that were part of a larger Soviet Union, and endanger the NATO alliance and its member nations, particularly those that share a border with Russia.

Be Informed

Be Engaged

Be Involved

[i] https://europe.unc.edu/the-end-of-wwii-and-the-division-of-europe/

[ii] https://ww2db.com/country/Russia

[iii] https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/yalta-conference

[iv] https://www.nato.int/cps/su/natohq/declassified_139339.htm

[v] https://www.britannica.com/topic/North-Atlantic-Treaty-Organization

[vi] https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/nato_countries.htm

[vii] https://www.nato.int/cps/us/natohq/declassified_138294.htm

[viii] https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine/Government-and-societ

[ix] https://www.nytimes.com/article/russia-ukraine-nato-europe.html