More Politics & Law Questions

Should NATO rethink expansion?

At the last NATO summit, Georgia and Ukraine were shocked to learn that the support of the United States was not enough to get them into NATO. Germany and several other countries had successfully opposed it.

But almost every former Eastern bloc state, and a few former Soviet republics, have already joined the alliance. For two decades, NATO has been expanding and Russia hasn’t been able to do anything but watch. And as far as Russia is concerned, the only possible reason for NATO expansion is because the West still sees them as an aggressive power. Well, with the recent situation in Georgia, we’ve seen that antagonizing Russia might not be the best idea.

However, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Baltic countries, and others petitioned to join NATO for a reason. They honestly feel threatened by Russia, and want to avoid falling under Moscow’s thumb again.

So should NATO continue to expand to protect the security of these countries, or would it be better to bring Russia into a new alliance, meant to help with regional security in Europe?

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Answer #1

It all depends on the true intentions of Russia and their mindset - I lean towards expansion because I don’t think they will honor any alliance - cannot be trusted.

Answer #2

Perhaps the reason Moscow is so hostile is precisely because we assume they will not honor any alliance?