The US and NATO Expansion: Fulfilling a Domestic Political Agenda
PDF

Keywords

NATO Expansion
Neorealism
Rational Choice
Realpolitik

How to Cite

Ranise, L. (2019). The US and NATO Expansion: Fulfilling a Domestic Political Agenda. Political Observer | Revista Portuguesa De Ciência Política (Portuguese Journal of Political Science), (11), 13–34. https://doi.org/10.33167/2184-2078.RPCP2019.11/pp.13-34

Abstract

The expansion of NATO has certainly been a very controversial issue that still sees the world divided into supporters and opponents. Various reasons have been brought forward to justify why the NATO enlargement decision was taken, inter alia the securitisation and stabilisation of Europe, the democratisation of the countries formerly under the Soviet yoke or the enhancement of the Alliance’s effectiveness and cohesion. Although all such propositions might be valid, this article wants to analyse if indeed, as often claimed, the US decision to enlarge NATO responded first and foremost to realpolitik considerations, and namely if it is true that enlargement addressed specific US’s domestic political concerns that had their expression also in foreign policy initiatives, and more specifically if President Clinton used NATO enlargement to enhance his chances of re-election. The study conducted demonstrates that it was indeed so and that President Clinton could have not possibly followed a different policy. Without the firm US commitment to expand NATO, the enlargement of the Alliance would have probably never taken place.

https://doi.org/10.33167/2184-2078.RPCP2019.11/pp.13-34
PDF

References

Cong. Rec. (Statement by Mr. Moynihan). (1998). Retrieved May 14, 2019, from <https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1998-03-03/html/CREC-1998-03-03-pt1-PgS1283-3.htm>.

Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994. Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers of The Netherlands. (1994). Retrieved May 14, 2019, from <https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1994-book1/pdf/PPP-1994-book1-doc-pg5.pdf>.

Administration of William J. Clinton, 1994. The President’s News Conference With Visegrad Leaders in Prague. (1994). Retrieved from <https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PPP-1994-book1/pdf/PPP-1994-book1-doc-pg39-2.pdf>.

Agence France-Presse. (1997). Oops! A Blunt Canadian on NATO. Retrieved January 29, 2016, from <http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/11/world/oops-a-blunt-canadian-on-nato.html?mcubz=0>.

Aggarwal, V. K. (2001). Analysing NATO Expansion: An Institutional Bargaining Approach. In R. W. Rauchhaus (Ed.), Explaining NATO Enlargement (pp. 63–82). Portland, OR: Frank Cass Publishers.

Apple, R. W. (1997). Road to Approval Is Rocky, And the Gamble Is Perilous. The New York Times. Retrieved from <http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/15/world/road-to-approval-is-rocky-and-the-gamble-is-perilous.html>.

Asmus, R. D., Kugler, R. L., & Larrabee, F. S. (1993). Building a New NATO. Foreign Affairs, 72(4), 28–40.

Bee, R. J. (2001). Boarding the NATO Train: Enlargement and National Interests. In R. W. Rauchhaus (Ed.), Explaining NATO Enlargement (pp. 149–169). Portland, OR: Frank Cass Publishers.

Brzezinski, Z. (1995). A Plan for Europe: How to Expand NATO. Foreign Affairs, 74(I), 26–42 <https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506200710779521>.

Carrol, E. J. (1997). NATO Expansion Would Be an Epic “Fateful Error.” Los Angeles Times.

Retrieved from <http://articles.latimes.com/print/1997/jul/07/local/me-10464>.

Carrol, E. J. (1998). On NATO, How Will Russia React? Kennan’s Warning. The New York Times.

Chaya, A. (2006). Germany’s Civilian Power Diplomacy: NATO Expansion and the Art of Communicative Action. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

DeParle, J. (1995). The Man Inside Bill Clinton’s Foreign Policy. The New York Times. Retrieved from <http://www.nytimes.com/...8/20/magazine/the-man-inside-bill-clinton-s-foreign-policy.html?pagewanted=all&pagewanted=print>.

Dobbins, J. F. (1990). [Memorandum]. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved from https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//dc.html?doc=4325704-Document-26-U-S-Department-of-State-European.

Eyal, J. (1997). NATO’s Enlargement: Anatomy of a Decision. International Affairs, 73(4), 695–719.

First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000. (2000). Retrieved May 27, 2017, from <https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2000/dec/phc-t-43.html>.

Foster, G. D. (1998). Senate Has a Job to Do on NATO Expansion. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from <http://articles.latimes.com/1998/feb/16/local/me-19765>.

Friedman, G. (2014). The American Public’s Indifference to Foreign Affairs. Retrieved August 6, 2017, from <http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/american-publics-indifference-foreign-affairs#axzz3CwXhdLuX>.

Friedman, T. L. (1998). Foreign Affairs; Madeleine’s Folly. The New York Times. Retrieved from <http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/17/opinion/foreign-affairs-madeleine-s-folly.html>.

Gaddis, J. L. (1998, April 27). The Senate Should Halt NATO Expansion. The New York Times. New York. Retrieved from <http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/27/opinion/the-senateshould-halt-nato-expansion.html>.

Gerth, J., & Weiner, T. (1997, June 29). Arms Makers See a Bonanza in Selling NATO Expansion. Retrieved June 4, 2017, from <http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/29/world/arms-makers-see-bonanza-in-selling-nato-expansion.html>.

Goldgeier, J. M. (1998). NATO Expansion: The Anatomy of a Decision. The Washington Quarterly, 21(1), 83–102.

Goldgeier, J. M. (1999). Not Whether but When. The U.S. Decision to Enlarge NATO. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.

Hallams, E., Ratti, L., & Zyla, B. (2013). Introduction - A New Paradigm for NATO? In E. Hallams, L. Ratti, & B. Zyla (Eds.), NATO Beyond 9/11 (pp. 1–23). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Harries, O. (1997). The Dangers of Expansive Realism. The National Interest, (Winter 1997-1998), 1–6. Retrieved from <http://nationalinterest.org/article/the-dangers-of-expansive-realism-551>.

Hendrickson, R. C. (1999). The Enlargement of NATO: The Theory and Politics of Alliance Expansion. European Security, 8(4), 84–99.

Holbrooke, R. (1995). America, A European Power. Foreign Affairs, 74(2), 38–51.

Holland, L. (1999). United States: The Role Of The Central And Eastern European Vote. Retrieved May 28, 2017, from <https://www.rferl.org/a/1081917.htm>.

Kennan, G. (1998). The Dangers of Expansive Realism. Congressional Record (Vol. 144). Washington, D.C.: The Government Publishing Office. Retrieved from <https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1998-03-03/html/CREC-1998-03-03-pt1-PgS1283-3.htm>.

Kupchan, C. A. (2001). Origins and Future of NATO Enlargement. In R. W. Rauchhaus (Ed.), Explaining NATO Enlargement (pp. 127–148). Portland, OR: Frank Cass Publishers.

Kydd, A. H. (2008). Methodological Individualism and Rational Choice. In C. Reus-Smit & D. Snidal (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Relations (pp. 425–443). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Mandelbaum, M. (1995). Preserving the New Peace: The Case against NATO Expansion. Foreign Affairs, 74(3), 9–13.

Marshall, T. (1998). U.S. Public Acutely Uninterested in Vote on NATO Expansion. Retrieved August 18, 2017, from <http://articles.latimes.com/print/1998/apr/08/news/mn-37245>.

MccGwire, M. (2008). NATO Expansion: “A policy error of historic importance.” International Affairs, 84(6), 1281–1301.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] Enlargement Costs: Hearings before the Committee on Appropriations, Senate, 105th Congr. 15. (1998). Retrieved from <https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-105shrg46492/pdf/CHRG-105shrg46492.pdf>.

OSCE. (1994). OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security. Retrieved from http://www.osce.org/fsc/41355

Pew Research Center. (1997a). Public and Opinion Leaders Favor NATO Enlargement. Retrieved from <http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/legacy-pdf/103.pdf>.

Pew Research Center. (1997b). Public Indifferent about NATO Expansion. Retrieved August 21, 2017, from <http://www.people-press.org/1997/01/24/public-indifferent-about-nato-expansion/>.

Rauchhaus, R. W. (2001). Explaining NATO Enlargement. In R. W. Rauchhaus (Ed.), Explaining NATO Enlargement (pp. 173–194). Portland, OR: Frank Cass Publishers.

Resor, S. (1997). Opposition to NATO Expansion. Retrieved June 26, 2017, from <https://www.armscontrol.org/act/1997_06-07/natolet>.

Seelye, K. Q. (1998, March 30). Arms Contractors Spend to Promote an Expanded NATO. Retrieved from <http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/30/world/arms-contractors-spendto-promote-an-expanded-nato.html>.

Selected Characteristics by Ancestry Group. (1998). Retrieved May 28, 2017, from <https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/cph-series/cph-l/cph-l-149.html>.

Solomon, G. B. (1998). The NATO Enlargement Debate, 1990-1997. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Sorensen, T. C. (1995). The Star Spangled Shrug. The Washington Post.

U.S. General Accounting Office. (1997). NATO Enlargement: Cost Estimates Developed to Date Are Notional. Retrieved from <http://www.gao.gov/products/NSIAD-97-209>.

Walt, S. M. (2000). Two Cheers for Clinton’s Foreign Policy. Foreign Affairs, 79(2), 63–79.

Walt, S. M. (2019). The End of Hubris. Foreign Affairs, 98(3), 26–35.

Waltz, K. N. (2000a). NATO expansion: A realist ’s view. Contemporary Security Policy, 21(2), 23–38.

Waltz, K. N. (2000b). Structural realism after the Cold War. International Security, 25(1), 5–41.

Waltz, K. N. (2001). NATO Expansion: A Realist’s View. In R. W. Rauchhaus (Ed.), Explaining NATO Enlargement (pp. 23–38). Portland, OR: Frank Cass Publishers.

Webber, M. (2013). NATO after 9/11: Theoretical Perspectives. In E. Hallams, L. Ratti, & B. Zyla (Eds.), NATO Beyond 9/11 (pp. 27–53). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

At the moment of the article submission, it is required to the author(s) declare to agree with the conditions and norms of Political Observer - Revista Portuguesa de Ciência Política, as well as guaranteeing the inedited and original character of the text submitted to scientific evolution. Thus, the author(s) declare to accept the instructions and conditions of publication of the journal, sharing with this the author’s rights, respecting the duties of copyright and ceding to the journal the rights over the first publication of the text in its printed and digital version.

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. The partial or integral publication and sharing of the text (in institutional repositories, book chapters, periodical publications, social media and professional platforms in the areas of science and research, among others) determines the quotation of the initial publication in the journal and the hyperlinking to the website of Political Observer - Revista Portuguesa de Ciência Política, resorting, to that effect, to the available information in the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) system.

Political Observer incentives the sharing and distribution of the work published by the authors in the journal, raising the impact factors and the number of registered quotes, this way contributing to an open (https://www.ciencia-aberta.pt/) and accessible science (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/portals-and-platforms/goap/open-science-movement/). Published works are under a Creative Commons License - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International .

Licença Creative Commons