NATO | Towards a more European alliance
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500+ questions on Current Affairs & GK with explanations
📌 Summary:
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Context: For over seven decades NATO has been the cornerstone of Western security; founded in 1949 (32 members) as a bulwark against Soviet expansion, it later became a vehicle for American power projection worldwide
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Core argument: NATO now faces threats both external and internal, pushing it towards a more "European" alliance less dependent on the US
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External threat: Russia — the Russia-Ukraine war, in its fifth year, remains NATO's foremost priority under its core mandate of European security
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Internal threat: The Trump Presidency — US wavering on burden-sharing and commitment strains the transatlantic bond, pressuring Europe to shoulder more of its own defence
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Implication: Greater European strategic autonomy, higher defence spending by European members, and questions over the credibility of Article 5 collective-defence guarantees
🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (IR) — evolving global security architecture, transatlantic relations, and implications for India's multi-alignment and defence partnerships
📝 Prelims Facts:
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NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) was founded in 1949; HQ in Brussels, Belgium; it now has 32 members
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Article 5 enshrines collective defence — an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all
🔑 Key Term: Strategic autonomy — a bloc's or country's capacity to defend its interests and act independently without over-reliance on an external power
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