With the war in Ukraine, the role of NATO in Europe and its enlargement towards the east is relevant more than ever. This study looked at the enlargement of NATO since the end of the Cold War. The...Show moreWith the war in Ukraine, the role of NATO in Europe and its enlargement towards the east is relevant more than ever. This study looked at the enlargement of NATO since the end of the Cold War. The main reason for NATO’s existence, to deter Soviet aggression, no longer exist. So why did NATO continue to exist in the 21st century and why did it expand to the east? The purpose of this study is to look at a specific part of this enlargement, the bureaucracy of the alliance. The following research question has been used: To what extent did the bureaucracy of NATO influence the organisation’s Eastern enlargement since the collapse of the Soviet Union? To answer this question, research has been done on the different enlargement steps since the fall of the Berlin Wall up to the present. The role of the bureaucracy, including the secretary general of NATO, in relation to the member states was examined step by step. The analysis shows that the bureaucracy of NATO itself had almost no say in its enlargement. The fall of the Berlin wall symbolizes the beginning of the change NATO had undergone. However, it was the United States that played the most influential role on the alliance’s enlargement towards east with initiating NATO’s most important documents for allowing new member states.Show less
