Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
According to a New York Times Opinion piece by several of their columnists today, the war in Ukraine has re-invigorated NATO members, and is also having some effect on elections scheduled in Hungary, which has a President who has been pro-Putin in the past. Sweden and Finland have begun considering the possibility of joining NATO.
If the war is causing neutral nations among Russia's neighbors to consider the defense benefits of NATO membership, how far could that lead, in terms of potential new members? How flexible is the definition of "Europe"? Could Georgia be eligible? What if it were to request membership? Armenia? What are the pros and cons? Realistic, or unrealistic?
The definition of "Europe" has always been flexible. Most of Turkey is in Asia. By that standard most of North Africa should be eligible. Australia participates in the Eurovision Song Contest. That's precedent for ya. The more the merrier. It'll keep them from fighting with each other.
Nothing in the term NATO says "Europe", unlike the European Union which contains that term in their very name. Of course, requesting to join NATO doesn't mean you will be accepted. But I don't see why Nordic countries or eastern European countries wouldn't be considered. The same can be said for African and Asian countries.
According to a New York Times Opinion piece by several of their columnists today, the war in Ukraine has re-invigorated NATO members, and is also having some effect on elections scheduled in Hungary, which has a President who has been pro-Putin in the past. Sweden and Finland have begun considering the possibility of joining NATO.
If the war is causing neutral nations among Russia's neighbors to consider the defense benefits of NATO membership, how far could that lead, in terms of potential new members? How flexible is the definition of "Europe"? Could Georgia be eligible? What if it were to request membership? Armenia? What are the pros and cons? Realistic, or unrealistic?
I don't think much will come out of it. Once emotions calm down the status quo will remain. Georgia certainly isn’t going to try. Putin put a stop to that in 2003. At most very small nations with no military or economic power will seek to join, but then again, they were rushing to join long before the war. For all the talk of so-called neutral nations of Switzerland, Finland, and Sweden joining there isn’t a reason and NATO membership comes with some serious drawbacks. Two being
- You give up control of your armed forces and cede control to either the U.S. or the U.K.
- You lock your interest into that of the U.S.
In foreign affairs it's never wise to be become locked to one party. They may be friendly now but could soon turn into an enemy. Look at the issues Turkey is experiencing with the U.S., Greece, and other NATO. Their so-called allies have imposed sanctions and undergoing efforts to prevent their military equipment sales.
I don't think much will come out of it. Once emotions calm down the status quo will remain. Georgia certainly isn’t going to try. Putin put a stop to that in 2003. At most very small nations with no military or economic power will seek to join, but then again, they were rushing to join long before the war. For all the talk of so-called neutral nations of Switzerland, Finland, and Sweden joining there isn’t a reason and NATO membership comes with some serious drawbacks. Two being
- You give up control of your armed forces and cede control to either the U.S. or the U.K.
- You lock your interest into that of the U.S.
In foreign affairs it's never wise to be become locked to one party. They may be friendly now but could soon turn into an enemy. Look at the issues Turkey is experiencing with the U.S., Greece, and other NATO. Their so-called allies have imposed sanctions and undergoing efforts to prevent their military equipment sales.
Great point! I can see why Sweden at least, has avoided NATO all this time. They couldn't stomach being told what to do by the US. Having their airspace violated just before the war began really caused waves, and made them wonder, though.
Quote:
Nothing in the term NATO says "Europe", unlike the European Union which contains that term in their very name.
Right, it doesn't say "Europe", but it does say North Atlantic. Extending into the Caucasus is stretching it a bit, but then there's Turkey, so -- why not? (Geographically speaking.)
In the years after the fall of the USSR, many in the US, Western Europe, and other places that generally benefited from the post-WW2 order seemed to fall into a place of complacency - the attitude that "we" "won" (two separate sets of quotation marks for two different issues) seemed pervasive in global politics. The baby boomer-dominated political order seemed to just sort of bask in the supposed success of the American way, and took for granted the relative peace and stability that the West seemed to have fostered.
It was this environment that led nations to start talking about pulling out of NATO, and for political ideologies that advocated for its dismantling to giant footholds. Meanwhile, Russia and China took advantage of the naivety of Western leadership: signing trade and military agreements which the West would abide by, but which they didn't even make a shallow attempt to follow. A lot of people missed this, and so to them, it seems like all of a sudden, China and Russia - the losers who everyone thought were just tripping over themselves to work with us - are challenging the global order and seeking to remake it in a way that benefits them, to the detriment of the nations that benefited from the status quo till now.
Oops!
Who wasn't a part of this "let them eat cake" mentality? The Baltic states who had been part of the USSR and gained their independence, and then sought out NATO membership... Around or after Putin came to power. It's almost like, I dunno, they knew what was up.
Eastern Europe isn't pro-russian nor pro-american. We're just pro-freedom and both against america and against russia. That's all.
Some Eastern European countries are pro-Russia like Hungary and Serbia. At least used to be. Serbia still is.
And what do you mean by "pro-freedom"? If you mean the vaccines then sorry hunny, but having the worst excess mortality in the world (together with Latin America) due to covid is not pro-freedom, it's pro-dumb.
Five countries with the highest estimated excess mortality rate (per 100,000)
Bolivia 734.9
Bulgaria 647.3
Eswatini 634.9
North Macedonia 583.6
Lesotho 562.9
Five countries with the lowest estimated excess mortality rate (per 100,000)
Stick to your part of the world, speaking of which the same applies to Biden, he is so old he can't even travel to other countries to try and tell them what to do. Like I said: America/Russia lost this war. Ukraine is the real winner since they showed Russia can be stopped without the help of former british colonies be it Bermuda, UAE, Singapore or USA.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
