As European security structures are undergoing transformation in the 1990s it is crucial to examine their origins and rationale: NATO secured peace and facilitated economic and political co-operation, while also becoming the vehicle of national rivalry. This book examines why and how NATO came into existence, and what its strengths and weaknesses were during its formative years. It draws conclusions from these experiences relevant to the reforms of Western security structures in the 1990s.

Inhalt
Preface - Notes on Contributors - Introduction; B.Heuser - I: THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF NATO - Stalin as Hitler's Successor: Western Interpretations of the Soviet Threat; B.Heuser - British Policy Overseas: the 'Third Force' and the Origins of NATO, 1947-49; J.W.Young & J.Kent - II: NATO'S PROBLEMS ON THE CENTRAL FRONT - The Berlin Crises of 1948-49 and 1958-62; K.Schake - The Berlin Crises, France, and the Atlantic Alliance, 1947-61: From Integration to Disintegration; C.Buffet - France and the Leadership of the West in the 1950s: the Story of a Disenchantment; G.Bossuat - Anthony Eden and the Framework of Security: Britain's Alternatives to the European Defence Community, 1951-54; O.Mager - Nuclear Weapons and British-German Relations; C.Bluth - III: THE MEDITERRANEAN AND THE FAR EAST - Spain, 'DRUMBEAT' and NATO: incorporating Franco's Spain in Western Defence; J.Edwards - The Neglected Flank? NATO in the Mediterranean, 1949-55; E.Calandri - Italy and Western Defence 1948-55: the Elusive Ally; A.Varsori - Italy and the Nuclear Choices of the Atlantic Alliance, 1955-63; L.Nuti - Alliance under Stress: Anglo-American Relations and East Asia 1949-51; J.T.H.Tang - NATO, 'Alliance' and the Suez Crisis; W.S.Lucas - IV: PROBLEMS WITHIN THE ALLIANCE - Problems of Military Production Co-ordination; I.Megens - NATO's First Spies: the Case of the Disappearing Diplomats; S.Kerr - V: CONCLUSIONS - Securing Peace in Europe in the 1990s; R.O'Neill - Chronology of Events - Select Bibliography - Index