Radu Georgescu: What significance does the 75th anniversary of NATO hold for global security and stability?
Alexandru Cristian: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is one of the longest-lasting and most successful alliances in world history. I want to highlight three milestones in its history. The first is Resolution 239 or the Vandenberg Resolution when the United States abandons its isolationist policy. The second is the Washington Treaty issued on April 4, 1949, when The North Atlantic Treaty was born. The third key moment was the convention of September 20, 1951, in Ottawa when the alliance received the name NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) .
NATO has become a security complex that ensures geostrategic and geopolitical balance at the global level.
A regional security complex is a group of states whose primary national security concerns are so closely intertwined together that they cannot be extracted or addressed independently of each other, theory was developed by Prof. Barry Buzan and Ole Waeaver.
Radu Georgescu: How has NATO’s role and relevance evolved over the past 25 years, with its expansion and the integration of countries like Romania?
Alexandru Cristian: The expansion of NATO represented to the same extent the expansion of the American power. We must not forget the crucial role that the United States of America played in the founding of NATO. The great diplomat George Frost Kennan emphasized that the Alliance must be based on the common interests and values of the member states, not just the fear of the Soviet threat. Thus NATO has become extremely present and relevant worldwide, and we can stress several examples from recent history. We must emphasize that NATO is and remains a defensive alliance.
Radu Georgescu: What are Romania’s main contributions to NATO’s missions and objectives over the past 25 years?
Alexandru Cristian: Romania’s position and its role in NATO was shaped by the efforts of the Romanian army. The collective main effort belongs to military personnel generations who have served the country in international missions. I think that an important step was the agreement to allocate 2% of GDP to defense. We must emphasize the modernizing and shaping role of NATO in the national defense system of our country.
Radu Georgescu: How has NATO membership influenced Romania’s political and strategic trajectory over the past quarter-century?
Alexandru Cristian: If we were not NATO members, I honestly believe that a more dangerous geopolitical road would have awaited us considering the resurgence of the Russian power. NATO membership guided us to new development directions, developed and also transformed a political-military elite and a solid security culture.
Radu Georgescu: What are the current challenges and threats facing NATO, and how is Romania involved in addressing them?
Alexandru Cristian: NATO’s main challenge today is NATO itself. I want to emphasize that NATO is an alliance that has adapted but must make an effort to evolve towards a postmodern alliance. An alliance that would encompass new technologies, artificial intelligence, big data, military chatbot, deep learning, a multi-domain approach to military conflicts (multi-domain operations MDO’s), and even a fundamental shift in geographic responsibility.
I boldly state that NATO can expand its cooperation with partner states. Currently, there are partnerships between NATO and Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Colombia, and Pakistan. In the Middle East area, there is the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (Bahrein, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates). There is also the Mediterranean Dialogue (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia).
Cooperation between the partner states and NATO must be deepened to ensure stability at the global level.
Radu Georgescu: What important initiatives and partnerships has Romania developed within NATO, and what are the outcomes of these efforts?
Alexandru Cristian: Within the Alliance, Romania intensified its cooperation with all member states of the Alliance. Our country also enhanced relations with partner states of the Alliance. As the main thing we must emphasize that Romania has proven to be an extremely important ally.
The appointment of Romanian personalities to positions within NATO is real proof of the recognition of our country’s efforts. It has also strengthened cooperation programs and the development of its capabilities together with other NATO members, our country has taken important steps in increasing interoperability at the allied level.
Radu Georgescu: How has Romania’s participation in military exercises and cooperation within NATO contributed to strengthening defense and deterrence capabilities in the Black Sea region?
Alexandru Cristian: Romania is an extremely important state in the Black Sea region due to the Danube Delta. The Romanian army modernized, equipped itself, and, together with the Alliance, became a deterrent to the violation of international law in the region. Also since the beginning of the war of Russia against Ukraine, more precisely in February 2014, Romania has strengthened its capabilities and increased cooperation with allied and partner states.
Radu Georgescu: What are Romania’s future perspectives and priorities within NATO, taking into account both the regional and global contexts?
Alexandru Cristian: In the future, Romania must strengthen its position and its capabilities, it must prove that it is a worthy and strong ally of the Alliance. As a permanent objective, Romania must modernize its military equipment and increase its fascination for the military profession. A well-equipped and numerous army will make Romania a strong ally in NATO and will contribute to the consolidation of the Eastern Flank.
Disclaimer: This paper was prepared or accomplished by Alexandru CRISTIAN in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this interview are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of NATO or other national institution or governement.
Alexandru Cristian is an historian, writer, lawyer born on October 23, 1987 in Brăila, county Brăila, Romania. He holds a Ph.D. Thesis in Information and National Security from the “Carol I” National Defense University in 2015. He graduated in Law in 2019 at Titu Maiorescu University in Bucharest. He published several studies over US- Romanian Relations like 140 years of Us-Romanian Relations, Partners without Partnership in 2020 published on Amazon Kindle Edition, Romania- The United States of America – Past, Present and Future, Prouniversitaria Publishing House, 2023. He studied Romanian-American diplomatic relations. He is a member of the American Academy of Poets.
