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1. Nato Enlargement
   NATO was slow to realize that its enlargement to the east would not be successful without the active participation of Russia in the development of a Euro-Atlantic security architecture. The "NATO- Russia Founding Act," signed in Paris on 27 May, marks the beginning of a better understanding of Russia's legitimate security concerns and should, hopefully, form the basis of an enduring NATO-Russia partnership. The signing of the Act does not mean... that a difference of policy and outlook between NATO and Russia will automatically disappear, particularly on the future enlargement of NATO.
2. Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) -- Nato Allies
   Decisions in NATO are made by consensus; this means that every decision is mutually agreed among all of its members and is the expression of their collective will. Consensus is reached through regular consultations aim coordination of the members. Since every member preserves its full independence and sovereignty, no decision may be made by NATO against the will of one of its members. At the same time, NATO can not prevent one of its members from taking individual action.
3. Nato Enlargement -- Czech Republic
   Congress was placed in an awkward position on NATO enlargement. Consultation with Congress accelerated only after the essential decisions to enlarge NATO were made. Thus, the Clinton administration put Senators in the position of having little choice but to support NATO enlargement or cause serious damage to NATO and aspiring members. The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly ratified the admission of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic into NATO. However, future enlargements will not be guaranteed similar support. Congress needs regular White House consultation on all aspects of NATO policy in order to keep members active in their support for NATO.
4. Nato Enlargement -- Czech President
   Russia's reaction to the new momentum behind NATO enlargement has not been as hostile as many expected. Indeed, just 24 hours after the Bush speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin warmly embraced the American president at a summit in Bled, Slovenia, strongly implying that he did not intend to let enlargement undermine the potential for U.S.-Russia cooperation. Later in the summer, Putin took a further step toward acknowledging the inevitability of enlargement by expressing the view that Russia might itself want to join NATO, as an alternative to his preferred option of seeing NATO disappear. Putin went even further in October 2001, as Russian-American cooperation on terrorism was moving forward, saying that if NATO were to continue "becoming more political than military" Russia might reconsider its opposition to enlargement. This was hardly an expression of Russian support for enlargement, but it was the strongest signal yet that Moscow wants to find a way to accommodate a development that it does not like but knows it cannot stop. At their November 2001 summit in Crawford, Texas, Putin did not press Bush on the issue.
5. Nato Enlargement -- Alliances
   According to the Alliance's Study on NATO Enlargment, an enlarged NATO would "contribute to enhanced stability" and foster "democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law" in the new member states. However, the countries under consideration for early enlargement, the Visegrad countries, are already well on their way to liberal democracy and a market economy. If the need to bolster stability and democratization were in fact the main criteria for NATO enlargement, Russia and Ukraine would certainly be recognised as most suitable candidates.22
6. Nato Enlargement -- Baltic States
   Have the students write a paragraph summarizing the main arguments for or against NATO enlargement. In a second paragraph, have them state whether they agree with the way one of the state’s senators voted on NATO enlargement. Why or why not?
7. Nato Enlargement -- Madrid Summit
   In this context, the question of whether NATO will enlarge next year seems to have been answered. Important questions remain... concerning who should get in, how NATO should go about taking them in, and how to deal with Russia. Although the formal decisions will not be taken until next year's Prague summit, the need to reach consensus among NATO's 19 members well in advance (probably by summer 2002) will require the Bush administration to reach decisions and develop a strategy as early as this winter, so that it can begin the long and difficult process of building consensus among Allies and engaging Congress and the American people.
8. Nato Enlargement -- Expansion
   The British poet Alexander Pope once wrote that lovers "dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake". The same might be said of post-enlargement NATO at 19, at least according to Zoltan Barany. His The Future of NATO Expansion: Four Case Studies (Cambridge University Press, 2003) contains a litany of the shortcomings of NATO's new members - both current and prospective - and a plea to not repeat what the author considers the mistakes of the 1999 round of enlargement. With the accession of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to the Washington Treaty on 29 March of this year, his plea fell on deaf ears.
9. Nato Enlargement -- United States
   Fears that the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to include Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic will disrupt ties between the United States and Russia are unfounded. Russia needs Western investment, technology, and cooperation to integrate into the global economy. In addition, the Western media overemphasize anti-NATO sentiment among Russians. Polls show that Russians worry more about payments of chronically delayed wages, low living standards, crime, and corruption. Russia's real security concerns... are with its Islamic neighbors and the People's Republic of China, not with the democratic West. Finally, even the Yeltsin administration, which vehemently opposes NATO enlargement, admits that the major threats to Russia are domestic, and that no foreign country currently endangers Russia's security.
10. Nato Enlargement -- West Europe
    Opposition to NATO enlargement resides solely in the Russian foreign policy establishment. Recent public opinion polls in Russia suggest that the majority of the Russian people are not anxious about NATO's decision to add new members. In fact, many have yet to even form an opinion, and others have indicated that NATO enlargement is simply not an issue of concern. The Russian foreign policy elite, composed primarily of members of the Soviet foreign policy establishment, have been deliberately deceptive on this issue. Many claim that enlargement will strengthen the positions of those who are the main enemies of the West. Dr. Brzezinski contended that Russian leaders are playing a deceitful game by telling the West that they do not consider NATO enlargement a threat, but that the Russian public is amok with anxiety and fear.

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