ABSTRACT
During the Cold War, stability in Europe was based on deterrence. This explains why the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) imprinted itself on the European consciousness primarily as a powerful military structure. From its foundation in 1949 on, however, the Atlantic alliance fulfilled important political functions that went well beyond the challenges of deterrence. NATO had been conceived as a means of preventing the expansion of Soviet political influence in an economically weak Europe. Protecting Western Europe from a return of the old European game of power politics, the alliance was thought to ensure the pro-Western orientation of the West German and Italian governments. NATO membership signaled a commitment to a community of values and interests, as the preamble of the North Atlantic Treaty makes clear: “They [the parties to the treaty] are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.”1 For those present at its creation in 1949, NATO was as much about the defense of values as about the defense of territory.2
