Author: Sinan Ulgen
Affiliation: Carnegie’s Middle East Program
Organization /Publisher: Foreign Policy
Date/Place: December 3, 2019, U.S.
Type of literature: Analysis
Word Count: 1200
Link: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/03/dont-blame-turkey-for-natos-woes/
Keywords: NATO, National Security, National Interest
Brief:
In this article, the author raises an important question: Has Turkey become a real threat to NATO’s political cohesion? In his answer, he presents important points regarding recent decisions taken by NATO on some important issues. NATO is currently adapting to changes in the global security environment that were provided by its Strategic Concept of 2010. The new strategy allowed NATO to overstep its traditional boundaries and engage in areas outside its theater of operations such as Afghanistan and Libya. According to the article, this change has brought a number of unprecedented problems. NATO has had a hard time managing the diverging national-security priorities of its member states, including its leading member, the United States. The articles also discussed U.S. policy in Syria where the former has established a tactical alliance with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria in order to fight the Islamic State while opting to remain oblivious to the danger that this partnership may pose toTurkey’s national security interests and Washington’s bilateral relations with Turkey. The author asserts that NATO cannot and should not discriminate among its members. As each NATO member has now a different perception of the salience of various asymmetric threats, such as violent radicalization and terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the notion of state failure in neighboring regions, he suggests that a possible solution could be to expand the scope and frequency of Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Invoking this article allows NATO members to exchange views and consultations on any developments that could affect transatlantic security.
By: Taqwa Abukmeil, CIGA Research Assistant
