NATO Counterproliferation Policy: A Case Study in Alliance Politics   [open html - 575KB]

This paper studies NATO's noncounterproliferation initiative and its attempt to develop an agreed alliance policy regarding this issue of concern. NATO's future holds the likelihood of more bilateral or multilateral actions under the umbrella of NATO approval, without necessarily being a consensual NATO activity. In addition, while NATO's core function will remain--to guarantee the freedom and physical security of its members--its day-to-day functions will change to lower level aspects of a broad range of security issues. As one analyst put it, this bodes a shift "from collective defense to collective responsibility sharing," with important ramifications for future non- or counterproliferation activities by the Alliance.