Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #NATO7for70
Most recents (9)
The Ukraine crisis has folks questioning @NATO's post-Cold War expansion into Eastern Europe, especially former Soviet Republics (namely the Baltic states of 🇪🇪🇱🇹🇱🇻).
So how exactly did the Baltics get into NATO?
[THREAD]
So how exactly did the Baltics get into NATO?
[THREAD]
Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia are currently the only former Soviet Republics in @NATO. They became members in 2004, along with Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
Regardless of whether there was a promise to never move NATO "one inch" eastward after the Cold War, neither the Soviets or the Americans, in 1990, likely envisioned NATO expanding into former Soviet Republics.
amazon.com/Not-One-Inch-P…
amazon.com/Not-One-Inch-P…
I joined @Twitter in 2018 primarily to create content for my classes. But I know many others also find my THREADS useful.
As a "Thank you" for just reaching 30k followers (what!?), 👇links to a curated Twitter search of all my threads.
twitter.com/search?f=live&…
As a "Thank you" for just reaching 30k followers (what!?), 👇links to a curated Twitter search of all my threads.
twitter.com/search?f=live&…
There are a few other threads not included in the above link because I didn't use [THREAD] at the start.
These are...
These are...
...my thread on Susan Strange (where I used 🧵)
1/ Day 7 of #NATO7for70 to commemorate 70 years of @NATO!
The seventh and final installment is "On Russia's Doorstep: Bringing in the Baltics"
The seventh and final installment is "On Russia's Doorstep: Bringing in the Baltics"
2/ Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia became @NATO members in 2004, along with Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
3/ While seven countries joined in 2004, the membership of the three Baltic states is arguably the most significant from a geopolitical standpoint: for the first time, NATO now bordered the Russia-proper
Note: "proper" is important, as Poland already bordered Kaliningrad
Note: "proper" is important, as Poland already bordered Kaliningrad
1/ Day 6 of #NATO7for70 to commemorate 70 years of @NATO!
The sixth installment is "September 12: NATO Invokes Article 5"
The sixth installment is "September 12: NATO Invokes Article 5"
2/ While Article 5 – The North Atlantic Treaty’s mutual defense clause – is the cornerstone of the alliance, by the year 2001 it had never been invoked.
3/ That changed when the United States was attacked by the Al Qaeda organization (led by Osama bin Laden) on September 11, 2001
1/ Day 5 of #NATO7for70 to commemorate 70 years of @NATO!
The fifth installment is "When NATO Went to War: Kosovo 1999"
The fifth installment is "When NATO Went to War: Kosovo 1999"
2/ By 1999, @NATO had been in existence for 50 years. But it had yet to engage in major combat operations.
3/ Maybe this was because @NATO had effectively deterred aggression?
Perhaps. But as I discussed in this thread, identifying the deterrent effect of an alliance is tough
Perhaps. But as I discussed in this thread, identifying the deterrent effect of an alliance is tough
1/ Day 4 of #NATO7for70 to commemorate 70 years of @NATO!
The fourth installment is "And The Wall Fell: Handling German Reunification"
The fourth installment is "And The Wall Fell: Handling German Reunification"
2/ As mentioned in a previous thread, West Germany joining NATO in 1955 wasn’t really that big of a deal. The possibility was anticipated when the North Atlantic Treaty was negotiated in 1949
3/ ...and West Germany's time came just six years later
1/ Day 3 of #NATO7for70 to commemorate 70 years of @NATO!
The third installment is "Adieu: Why France Left"
The third installment is "Adieu: Why France Left"
2/ We often think of “NATO Expansion”. But this was the first case of (partial) contraction.
Specifically, on February 21, 1966, French President Charles de Gaulle announced that France was withdrawing from the military component of NATO
iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/22/196…
Specifically, on February 21, 1966, French President Charles de Gaulle announced that France was withdrawing from the military component of NATO
iht-retrospective.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/22/196…
3/ To be clear, France was withdrawing from the “O” of NATO (the integrated military command), not from the “North Atlantic Treaty” itself.
1/ Day 2 of #NATO7for70 to commemorate 70 years of @NATO!
The second installment is "Turkey and Greece: The First Expansion"
The second installment is "Turkey and Greece: The First Expansion"
2/ Turkey (🇹🇷) & Greece (🇬🇷) joined the alliance in 1952 (with the articles of accession officially signed in October 1951). So NATO's first expansion took place just a little over two years after its founding.
Why these two countries?
Why these two countries?
3/ When the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in 1949, these were not the immediately obvious countries to be the first new members of NATO.
Ireland (🇮🇪) had been one of the last cuts
(👇 is from the minutes of the March 11, 1949 meeting of the Washington Exploratory Group)
Ireland (🇮🇪) had been one of the last cuts
(👇 is from the minutes of the March 11, 1949 meeting of the Washington Exploratory Group)
1/ Day 1 of #NATO7for70 to commemorate 70 years of @NATO!
The first installment is "The Signing: Negotiating the North Atlantic Treaty"
The first installment is "The Signing: Negotiating the North Atlantic Treaty"
2/ Fun fact: the band at the April 4, 1949 signing ceremony in Washington opened the proceedings by playing "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" & "It Ain't Necessarily So" from Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess".
Were those chosen to express American sentiment about the Treaty? 🤷♂️
Were those chosen to express American sentiment about the Treaty? 🤷♂️
3/ While it's too much to discuss the underlying motivations for creating an Atlantic alliance in 1948, the initial proposal came from Ernest Bevin, the British Foreign Minister
