The North Atlantic Treaty Organization came into existence with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. It was set up to provide cooperative defense for several European countries (mostly in Western Europe) and the U.S. and Canada. Under the influence of the Soviet Union, other states (mostly in Eastern Europe) came together under the Warsaw Pact shortly thereafter (May, 1955). For most of the next thirty years NATO and the Warsaw Pact were in opposition to each other. When the Soviet Union fell in the late 1980's, the Warsaw Pact also collapsed as Russian troops withdrew from its member states. By 1991, NATO had established the North Atlantic Cooperation Council "to provide a forum for consultation on political and security matters with the countries of central and eastern Europe, including the former Soviet republics" (Europa, 192). In 1993, this developed into the Partnership for Peace (PfP) which became the next step toward integrating more countries into the work of NATO. Twenty-three countries signed on to the PfP, including Russia.

Now, NATO is preparing to extend invitations to some countries from the former Warsaw Pact at its 1997 summit in Madrid, Spain. What will this do to the situation in Europe? Will it increase stability or will it undermine the current comfort level? All of the main actors have an opinion based on national concerns. Russia is strongly opposed to expansion while Poland (a former Warsaw Pact member and a potential NATO member) and the U.S. have their own reasons to favor the idea. To understand more fully the positions of each side and the question of NATO expansion as a problem or solution, please examine our recent research on each of these varying viewpoints.