Fortsetzung: Die Nato-Partnerschaft für den Frieden im Wandel - Entwicklung und Zukunft eines kooperativen Sicherheitsinstrumentes

Andreas Wenger, Christoph Breitenmoser, Patrick Lehmann

Summary

On the eve of the 50^th anniversary of the Washington Treaty, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has successfully adapted its role to the challenges of a new security environment. The Alliance remains the institutional cornerstone of the post-Cold War Euro-Atlantic security architecture. Established as a multifunctional body, NATO developed a complex system of norms, structures and procedures. This institutional flexibility laid the foundation for a quick adaptation of NATO’s functions to the changing security needs and perceptions in the Euro-Atlantic region.
At the turn of the century, NATO has evolved from a collective defense organization into a modern security management organization. On the one hand, NATO is enlarging by preparing to accept three states, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, as members in the Alliance. While collective defense remains the backbone of NATO against both a potential relapse into old and the emergence of new confrontations, the cooperative security functions of the Alliance have gained more attention in recent years. On the other, NATO has created new initiatives of conflict prevention and crisis management going beyond Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. The most significant example of such an initiative is in ensuring the Bosnia peace process by military means.
In support of its changing func tions, NATO established new relationships with both Russia (Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation) and the Ukraine (Charter for a Distinctive Partnership between NATO and the Ukraine). Even more important were the introduction of the Partnership for Peace initiative (PfP) and the foundation of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). Both decisions were taken in the spirit of preventing a division of the new Europe.
The Partnership for Peace, established in 1994, is an effort to enhance practical military cooperation in the Euro-Atlantic region while considering the different interests of the participating states. PfP focuses on the enhancement of peacekeeping capabilities through joint planning, training and exercises. In addition, PfP wants to increase the interoperability of the partner country’s military forces with those of NATO. The initiative has gained momentum in three stages:

• The PfP initiative originated from the Brussels Summit in January 1994. The NATO Allies took the decision to establish PfP against a background of considerable internal dissent over the question of enlargement. PfP was offered as a makeshift solution to those Eastern European states that were willing to join NATO. In a surprisingly short period, the initiative grew into a dense network of practical military and defense-related cooperation.
• PfP got fresh impetus in 1995 when NATO was given the responsibility for the implementation of the military part of the Dayton Peace Agreement. In this second phase, the initiative evolved into a more operational PfP. The involvement of partner states in the IFOR/SFOR mission proved the potential of multinational formations. At the same time, the experience of IFOR/SFOR indicated the need for an improved interoperability among multinational forces. In addition, the partner states wanted an increasi ng role in planning and executing PfP activities and urged NATO to increase their involvement in peace support operations.
• At Sintra in May 1997, NATO responded to these developments with the foundation of a more effective consultative forum – the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) – and the establishment of a more operational PfP – the enhanced Partnership program. The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council replaces the former North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) as a new cooperative mechanism.
  The EAPC provides the political framework for dialogue, cooperation and consultation between NATO and its cooperating Partners. The EAPC Action Plan includes specific subjects such as political and security-related matters, crisis management, regional cooperation, arms control and proliferation, defense planning and budget, defense policy, and the security impact of economic developments. The EAPC has become an important part of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture.
  The enhanced PfP substantively strengthens the Partnership in the political, military and institutional fields. The enhanced program intensifies the political consultation element, develops a more operational role and provides for greater involvement of partners in political PfP decision-making.

Since its establishment in 1994, PfP has become the central pillar of cooperative security arrangements in the Euro-Atlantic region. The initiative has fulfilled important political and military functions with regard to the transformation process of NATO. It has offered a set of supporting measures in the enlargement process of NATO and has facilitated the enhancement of its crisis management capabilities. The place of PfP in the Alliance’s new Strategic Concept is undisputed.
The phase of transition after the end of the Cold War has come to an end. The Heads of State and Government will gather in Washington in A pril 1999 and set out a new vision for the Alliance for the 21^st century on the basis of a new strategic consensus. The need for a security architecture that is based on different institutions acting towards shared strategic objectives is widely acknowledged. The Bosnia peace process has demonstrated how such an architecture can work: OSCE, the UN and the EU are all involved in rebuilding Bosnia and Herzegovina as a single, democratic, and multi-ethnic state. NATO, Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council play an essential role in the maintenance of peace and stability as a precondition for the implementation of the civil aspects of the Peace accord.

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