NATO in the Post-Cold War Era

“A tremendously important collection for understanding NATO’s history, present situation and possible development.”

—Jeremy Black, University of Exeter, UK

“This volume tackles current and future challenges facing NATO. A must-read for anybody involved or interested in strategic, security, or defence policies”

—Claudio Bisogniero, Former NATO Deputy Secretary General, Italy

“This book will be of value both to scholars and policy-makers; a ‘must read’ to understand NATO’s origins, evolution, and future challenges.”

—David G. Haglund, Queen’s University, Canada



This book analyses the evolution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its policies from the Cold War until today. NATO’s future cannot be fully understood without analysing its past: the origins of its structure and goals, and their transformation over time.  By exploring NATO’s geopolitical and military role at crucial pointsthroughout history, this edited volume considers the challenges and threats which have faced the alliance, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. It covers highly-debated and unresolved issues such as budgetary burden-sharing and the military transatlantic gap, the enlargement process, and the role of Asia in influencing NATO’s policies. Combining a historical approach with international perspectives, this book is an interdisciplinary read that will appeal to scholars of diplomatic history and international relations.

Chapters 1 and 2 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Massimo de Leonardis is Professor Emeritus of History of Treaties and International Politics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy, President of the International Commission of Military History and Editor of the Quaderni di Scienze Politiche. He has written and edited 27 books,and sits  on the boards of various Italian and international journals and institutions.