ABSTRACT
The popular perception of NATO’s role was famously summarized by its first secretary-general, Lord Ismay, as “keeping the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down.” Essentially, NATO’s mission remains to keep its members safe from outside threats, to ensure the cohesion of the transatlantic relationship, and to transform relations between former foes. However, behind this alluringly simple description of NATO and its respective role lie complex “self,” “we,” and “other” definitions and perceptions of roles and relevant functional tasks. This chapter seeks to unravel some of the complex processes of constituting and reconstituting NATO’s roles and associated perceptions of identity in NATO as an organization (the “self”), its member states and prospective member states (the “we”), its “partners,” and in its perception of “other.”
