NATO’s institutional change in the post-Cold War

an analysis on the evolution of the Strategic Concept in the perspective of Mahoney and Thelen’s model

Authors

  • Vlademir Monteiro UFPE

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5752/P.2317-773X.2021v9n2p132-152

Keywords:

Institutional chance, NATO, Strategic Concept

Abstract

This article addresses the impact of the post-Cold War reformulation of the Strategic Concept on NATO’s normative framework. The Strategic Concept prescribes the norms and practices that guide the organization’s conduct. Since the dismantling of the bipolar order, three such documents have been drawn
up - one in 1991, another in 1999 and the most recent in 2010, and each of them have introduced new features regarding the scope and area of action of the Atlantic Alliance, while also preserving others rules. In view of the above, this piece of work intends to explain this process from the perspective of Mahoney and Thelen’s study about institutional change. The main purpose is to analyze how the SC impacts the organization evolution and how the interests conflicts shapes the SC content and type of the change. In methodological terms, the work is structured as a single case study, which uses the examination of official documents and the use of secondary sources. Among its findings, the article finds out the NATO’s trajectory of chance is marked by the reformulations over its functions and widening of its geographic reach. 

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Author Biography

Vlademir Monteiro, UFPE

Doutorando no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Política da UFPE. Residente em João Pessoa,
Brasil. Membro do Núcleo de Estudos Americanos e do Grupo de Pesquisa em Estudos Estratégicos e Segurança Internacional. Áreas de interesse: Segurança Internacional, Teoria das RI, Oriente Médio. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2800-6194

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Published

2021-06-28

How to Cite

Monteiro, V. (2021). NATO’s institutional change in the post-Cold War: an analysis on the evolution of the Strategic Concept in the perspective of Mahoney and Thelen’s model. Estudos Internacionais: International Relations Journal of PUC Minas, 9(2), 132–152. https://doi.org/10.5752/P.2317-773X.2021v9n2p132-152