ABSTRACT
If adherents of realism have dominated the study of international organizations, this applies even more to the study of alliances. In this field the realist approach has been undisputed. National security as one of the core functions of sovereign nations is too sensitive to be left to international organizations. This chapter argues that theories on alliances as well as studies of NATO have failed to take into account the internal elements that contribute to the development of alliance cohesion and hence to a more independent role for NATO. To back up this claim, two periods in NATO history will be analyzed: its formative years and the period following the end of the Cold War. The development of an elaborate structure in the early 1950s is crucial in explaining why NATO was able to play a role of its own in the international security system. The end of the Cold War induced NATO to review and discuss its role in the changed international environment. The alliance proved capable of carrying out adjustments in its policy as well as in its structure. The roles NATO officials have played in this process will be discussed to see whether officials in the later period were as influential as their predecessors in the early 1950s in restyling the alliance and thereby maintaining the organization’s independent role.
