Abstract
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an international military alliance headquartered in Brussels, as a result of the North Atlantic Treaty that signed in Washington on April 4, 1949. The function of the organization is based on the instinct of member states to protect each other against any danger exists. This protection instinct derived from the military alliance of member states on the basis of the principle of collective defense. The pact, which was signed among 18 founding countries, now enforcing among 30 member states.
In this article; the legal structure of NATO, details such as the way it was founded, its founding purpose, and the text of the agreement will be discussed. Furthermore, relationships between NATO and Turkey will be discussed briefly among current crisis derived from S-400 dispute and Northern Syria.
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The Legal Status of NATO
In terms of discussing NATO’s legal presence, it would be very efficient to go first through the question of “What is NATO”. NATO is a regional military alliance pact that established to protect North Atlantic-European regions from existing dangers in accordance with Article 52 of the United Nations Treaty, which is covered by the Regional Treaties. The organization, which we can narrowly define regionally, can be defined as an international military pact in today’s broad sense, mainly in North America and Europe, from the Algerian region in North Africa to Turkey in Eurasia.
If we consider it in terms of its establishment, it would be in place for NATO to be determined as a collective defense organization, which assists a member state under attack by an outside country[1]. If we explain the principle of collective defense, it is the understanding that the security of one of the member states (parties) within the text of the pact or treaty is proposed to be under the total responsibility of the other parties to the treaty, and parties shall response with a communal instinct to regional or global threats. This understanding can be founded in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty Text:
“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security .”
NATO’s purpose of establishment is explained on its website with the following line:
“Security in our daily lives is key to our peace of mind. NATO’s aim is to ensure the freedom and security of member states through political and military means.”
“Political and military means” will be an important area of scrutiny for us. Because with this definition of purpose, NATO has made it clear to us the methods it will use in a way. Politically, NATO says it supports democratic values and intends its member states to solve problems and prevent conflicts in the long term. For this reason, when the political independence of any party is compromised on the basis of Article 4, the parties will be able to be in the consultation process. Advisory and member consultations are a key-factor (key point) in terms of the function of NATO’s executive mechanism.
Militarily, as of the first article, a commitment was made to resolve international disputes peacefully and not to act contrary to UN objectives. For this reason, NATO’s first military duty is to protect international security and stability through peaceful methods. In the event that these methods fail, NATO will have the capacity to take military measures in accordance with the principle of collective defense in Article 5 of the text of the agreement to deal with crises. In any term, NATO shall not violate UN agreements on the use of force.
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The Structure of NATO
Another topic to be discussed should be NATO’s working structure and system. We mentioned that NATO now consists of 30 member states and decisions are taken at its headquarters in Brussels. Here’s how we can explain the NATO mechanism in clauses:
- The decisions taken are made in the “consultation process” mechanism as a result of the consultations of the members with each other.
- All decisions issued after consultation are accepted unanimously. When a NATO resolution is announced, this will is considered a common statement of all sovereign states in the context of the alliance. The decisions agreed as a result of the consultations are implemented in all committees.
- This means that the decisions took with collectivity (consulted by the parties) are considered taken by all members of the NATO alliance.
We can say that the “principle of consensus” applies in the NATO executive mechanism, that the decisions taken by member states alone cannot be a “NATO decision” unless consulted by other countries.
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NATO Delegates and Military Representatives
We can mention that there are two coordinated wings in NATO’s executive mechanism, “civilian and military”.
Each member state has a permanent delegate at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels. Each delegation is attended by an “ambassador” to representing his government in the Alliance’s advisory and decision-making processes.
For NATO, civil coordination is the most up-to-date and effectively used tool. Just as military measures are used as the latest option in resolving crises in diplomacy, NATO’s executive mechanism is mainly worked by current and active civilian representatives.
NATO’s directorates have two decision-making bodies such as the Nuclear Planning Group and the North Atlantic Council. The most important of these is the North Atlantic Council. The function of the North Atlantic Council is described as follows:
It is NATO’s most important political decision-making body. Each member state has a seat in the NAC. This organ is usually meeting at once a week or at different levels of participation when needed. The Secretary-General, who is the chairman, helps members to reach a consensus to an agreement on their important problems.
Military Representatives are the implementers of the decisions made in NATO’s civil executive mechanism. Military Representatives are in the executive mechanism through the Military Committee. Members of the Military Committee are composed of the chief of defences of the member states. Under this committee, there are two separate commands, Allied Command Transformation and Allied Command Operations, which have international military personnel.
In militarily, NATO uses permanent military personnel from member states in its operations. As soon as the operations are over, troops that contributed by each Allied nation return to their countries.
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NATO and Turkey
We mentioned that NATO was founded to maintain security and stability, especially in the North Atlantic-European regions. Later, with the expansion and influence of this alliance, Turkey wanted to take part in the alliance for various reasons. The most effective of these reasons was the presence of the USSR threat on Turkey’s eastern border. As a result of these situations, Turkey became a member of the alliance on February 18, 1952. In the process, Turkey was quickly equipped with NATO equipment, trained with NATO standards, and practices. As a result, various foreign military bases and facilities were established in many parts of Turkey in accordance with bilateral agreements with the United States and NATO coordination. Turkey is currently operating with NATO in countries such as Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq as a NATO ally.
But today, there are several disputes that escalate tensions related to S-400’s and Russian ambition through those 2 main allies. Specifically, relations had been decreased when Turkey bought S-400 missiles from the Russian market. In addition, Turkish-Russian patrols on the border of Northern Syria have increased tensions between most strategic NATO ally (described by the US) and the most valuable member of NATO, United States, amid the crisis. Ongoing situation seems endangering Turkey’s position in the NATO and the Western Bloc. Also, Turkey’s current strategies that based on actively involving in the regional military conflicts, and recent operations in the Mediterranean (including Libya, Cyprus), are negatively impacting the ongoing tensions. Furthermore, the new US government seems not like to decrease the tensions with current government of Turkey. So, situation between NATO and Turkey remain silence.
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Summarize
In conclusion, in spite of escalating the tension between those two main partners, parties should decrease current tensions derived from S-400 and Russian ambitions including the border patrols co-held with Turkey-Russia. The NATO (espicially US) should approach her significant partner with more toleranced, and with a strategic partnership. Also, the member countries of NATO should minimize their ongoing military-aid relations with the non-international armed organizations in Northern Syria. The current military-aid program is increasing the terror threat in Turkey’s southern border and destabilizing the region, according to Turkey. Next, Turkey should have to minimize its current regional operations to decrease ongoing tensions while building a strategic relationship with its NATO ally. I believe that the ongoing escalations between NATO and Turkey can be solved with more dialogs and more moderated approaches within those two main allies.
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References
- https://www.nato.int/
- 10 Things You Need to Know About NATO, US Embassy, viewed 7 February 2021, https://tr.usembassy.gov/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-nato/
- More Information About NATO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, viewed 7 February 2021, http://www.mfa.gov.tr/nato.en.mfa
- Gallis, Paul E. “NATO: Article V and Collective Defense.” Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 1997.
[1]Gallis, Paul E. “NATO: Article V and Collective Defense.” Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 1997.
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