America’s New Allies comprehensively analyzes the strengths and liabilities that accompany the 1999 addition of three former Soviet satellite nations—Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic—to the ranks of the 16-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This controversial enlargement of NATO formalizes the new geopolitical realities in Eastern Europe and forces the U.S. military to confront the prospect of defending these former enemies against armed attack.
This round of enlargement is part of a larger restructuring of NATO underway since the end of the Cold War and tested by NATO’s 1999 action in Kosovo. The current enlargement—together with the prospect of adding other countries to NATO and the unprecedented institutional challenges highlighted during the Kosovo conflict—represents a defining moment for the emerging post-Cold War security architecture and, in turn, for the long-term relationship between the United States and Europe. The issues discussed in America’s New Allies will be vigorously debated for years to come.
