ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the discourse that frames North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a benevolent institution and a torch-bearer of pacific European norms and values beyond the EU. Although most geographical research on militarization focuses on the United States (US), Europe is equally important. The chapter focuses on the ways in which EU and NATO are interwoven in discussions of Europe's neighbourhood, understood here as the states that border the two institutions to the east, and its external relations in general. It examines the discourse that bundles up EU and NATO as natural partners in efforts to enhance stability and democracy in Europe's neighbourhood. Both EU and NATO are considered essential prerequisites of Estonia's rightful position in world affairs and most political discussions treat the two organizations as two sides of the same coin. Euro-Atlantic integration is a key sphere of Estonia's foreign aid; for example, with Estonia funding the training of Georgian diplomats and NGO leaders.