On the 24th of February 2022, the world was shocked by the news that Russian troops had invaded Ukraine, a sovereign and independent country. Since then, this crisis has dominated international news, and it has united world leaders across the globe.
Setting a global precedent, the Ukrainian President, Volodomyr Zelensky, has been rallying his people and international organisations daily to do what they can to defeat the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian military and civilians have taken up arms to defend their country and are now walking the streets on a nightly basis. However, despite President Zelensky for Western troops to aid the war effort, the West has not deployed troops to Ukraine to fight alongside them on the ground. One major Western ally that has been called to help defend Ukraine is NATO.
What is NATO?
NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. It is an institution that believes in the Member States being united in their search for peace and freedom for civilians and governments. It was established in Washington D.C., on the 4th of April 1949.
The critical legal mechanism for Nato is Article 5, which states that if one Member State is attacked, this is an attack on all. However, according to the NATOwebsite (https://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/index.html), this Article has only been used once in response to the 9/11 terror attack that occurred in New York City in 2001.
Who is part of NATO?
Since its conception in 1949, 30 countries have been part of this peace-centred organisation. Twelve countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Denmark, have been members since 1949; however, since then, a further 18 have joined, the latest being North Macedonia in 2020.
Can NATO directly involve its troops in the Ukraine crisis?
The short answer is no.
For NATO to take action in a situation such as the one happening in Ukraine, it must be against a Member State. Ukraine is not part of NATO, but the country has lobbied to be inducted as a Member State for several years without success. Without this induction, NATO will not intervene to defend Ukraine in its time of need.
Russia has also made it clear that it does not want Ukraine to join NATO. Vladimir Putin believes that NATO - a Western force - is undermining Russia and his supposed hold on Ukraine as he believes Russia and Ukraine should be united as one.
Russia’s foreign policy
It is true to say that Russia has had many influences when it comes to its foreign policy. Still, the most influential was the Primakov Doctrine: the Russian Federation would not take stock of its Western counterparts. This train of thought was initially put into place by Yevgeny Primakov - the former Prime Minister - back in 1996 and has been a significant influence in the Kremlin ever since.
Over the years, Russia has accumulated immense wealth, making it one of the most powerful economies in the world. With this backing, the Russian Federation has been able to distance itself further from the Western world and enforce itself as a world-dominating superpower.
Due to building its economy without the need and support of other countries, Russia can now benefit from isolating itself from Western financial sanctions. With the lack of involvement by Western organisations such as NATO, they have been able to infringe on other territories, for example, the annexation of Crimea in 2014. This has enabled the Russian Federation to grow its forces and add another layer to its rich and saturated history.
コメント