Political Science

NATO which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance which consists of many governments from various countries in the world. It operates under a treaty which was passed in 1949 by member states. The treaty is referred to as North Atlantic Treaty. Brussels is where the headquarters of NATO are situated. Collective defense is the mandate of this organization which deals with security matters. The member states join hand in providing mutual defense to prevent any security attacks. NATO expansion involves inclusion of new member states (Smith, 2009).

The inclusion of new member states in NATO defines its expansion. There has been a series of meetings which have been held by member states with the perception of introducing new members. The meeting held in Bucharest saw the introduction of new member states. NATO is composed of states in North America and Europe. Collective defense is perfected in this organization. There have been subsequent agreements which have helped in the governance and expansion of NATO. There are certain requirements formulated for those countries which wish to be member states.  The process of becoming a member state involves military integration and political dialogue.  NATO has expanded over the few decades.

The Cold War triggered the expansion of NATO. This saw the inclusion of various countries to be member states. Amongst these are Spain, Turkey, Greece and West Germany. NATO expansion continued even after the Cold War. Some of the countries brought in after the Cold War include Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The NATO expansion faced some opposition from Russia. Other countries from Eastern and Northern European joined later. These countries include Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Slovea, Latvia and Slovakia. The Bucharest meeting prospered expansion of NATO (Smith, 2009). They also laid down some agreements.

Croatia and Albania were proposed to be members in the 2008 Bucharest
Meeting. The 2008 Bucharest meeting impacted some nations. The meeting was mandated for NATO expansion and improvement in handling security threats. The meeting was used to strategize on how to encounter security threats in the 21st century. There are issues which prompt divergent understanding of outcome of the 2008 Bucharest meeting. The chapter to welcome Croatia and Albania was addressed during the meeting. They were to start accesation talks mandated towards joining the alliance (Henrich, 2008). This was considered beneficial since it prospered security. The alliance was to be transformed by taking new members on board. During the meeting, it was found that to be difficult to address security challenges alone. The international community was to take place in meeting security challenges. Cooperation amongst the global community was realized to be the key issue in addressing security challenges.

Afghanistan was focused as a major ground for terrorism. The threat of terrorism in Afghanistan rose divergent understanding. The member states of NATO were devoted in maintaining peace in Afghanistan. Additional efforts were found to be necessary in restoring human rights in Afghanistan. Other security matters involved the Balkans. NATO was devoted in ensuring security all over the Balkans (Henrich, 2008). Kosovo was to remain under the control of the security until peace prevailed. The authorities were to take part in the mission of restoring peace in Kosovo. In carrying out international operations, NATO policies were to be followed. This included the Kosovo and Afghanistan operations. They recognized the efforts of United States in ensuring international security. They were to team up in maintaining peace in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

In conclusion, NATO expansion has been of many debates with some member states offering opposition towards membership. NATO is governed through subsequent agreements. The 2008 NATO meeting in Bucharest impacted most countries towards a common agenda of peace and stability.