NATO 60 years: PfP Program as a succes program
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the NATO organization became drawn into the Balkans while building better links with former potential enemies to the east, which culminated with several former Warsaw Pact states joining the alliance in 1999 and 2004.
The origin of SEE coalitions date back to 1990 when NATO first extended “a hand of friendship’’ to all ex-Warsaw Pact States. Within a year, NATO endorsed the establishment of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC). The NACC charter was “to commence planning with liaison countries on disaster relief and refugee programs and other security challenges in Europe.” Two years later (in 1993), a U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Policy Paper was approved by the NACC and endorsed by NATO. The term “Partnership for Peace (PFP)” emerged from that paper.
Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Secretary of Defense— Les Aspin—publicly described the 5 “big advantages” of the PFP for both allies and partners:
- The PFP does not re-divide Europe.
- The PFP sets up the right incentives. In the new post-Cold War world, NATO can be an alliance based on shared values of democracy and the free market. The PFP rewards those that move in that direction.
- The PFP requires that partners make a real contribution. Security consultations with NATO, for instance, are offered only to States that are serious about playing the game.
- The PFP keeps NATO in the center of European security concerns and, thereby, keeps American involvement at the center of Europe.
- The PFP puts the question of NATO partnership for partners where it belongs, at the end of the process rather than at the beginning. (Another way of saying partners must first pull their own load for partnerships to solidify.)
From this beginning, the PFP has become the foundation for nearly all coalition efforts that have evolved within the SEE nations.
Between 1994 and 1997, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbors were set up, like the Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
The Partnership for Peace (PfP) program was established in 1994 and is based on individual bilateral relations between each partner country and NATO: each country may choose the extent of its participation. The PfP program is considered the operational wing of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership.
The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) was first established on 29 May 1997, and is a forum for regular coordination, consultation and dialogue between all 49 participants.
The essence of partnership and cooperation at the multinational level consists of regular consultations and cooperative activities designed to build transparency and confidence throughout the Euro-Atlantic area. At the bilateral level it calls for the development of a practical working relationship between individual Partner countries and NATO, tailored to their particular situations and requirements.
The Partnership process involves building dialogue and understanding between all the countries involved, many of which are former adversaries as members of opposing alliances, or have had long-standing regional, territorial, political, ethnic or religious disputes. Joint activities aimed at finding common solutions to common security challenges have led to important achievements in overcoming past prejudices and in establishing a clear vision of the mutual benefits to be gained from cooperation.
Since the launch of the Partnership process, remarkable progress has been made, even if there have been set-backs and difficulties, which were perhaps unavoidable given the complex process of political, economic and social change taking place in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The EAPC and the PfP program have steadily developed their own dynamic, as successive steps have been taken by NATO and its Partner countries to extend security cooperation, building on the partnership arrangements they have created. As NATO has transformed over the years to meet the new challenges of the evolving security environment, Partnership has developed. To retain its dynamism and relevance to the Alliance, the activities and mechanisms of Partnership have had to be adapted to meet NATO’s new priorities.
Equally, the Partnership has had to be deepened and broadened to meet the aspirations of different Partner countries and remain an attractive proposition to them. Two rounds of NATO enlargement have changed the balance between Allies and Partners. As of March 2004, there were more Allies than Partners – and the remaining Partners are a very diverse group. They include Balkan countries still dealing with the legacies of their past, the strategically important but underdeveloped countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and the Western European nonaligned states. While some are in the process of developing their defense structures and capabilities, others are able to contribute significant forces to NATO-led operations and to offer fellow Partner countries advice, training and assistance in various areas.
Today, 20 Partners use the EAPC to consult regularly with the 26 Allies and to develop cooperation on issues encompassing many different aspects of defense and security. Their military forces frequently exercise and interact together; their soldiers serve alongside each other in NATO-led peacekeeping operations; and Allies and Partners are working together in common cause against the threat of terrorism.
No-one at the time the Cold War ended would have predicted this dramatic evolution in the Euro-Atlantic strategic environment.
The original objective of NATO’s partnership policy was to break down barriers and to build security through dialogue and cooperation. Today, the objectives are much more ambitious, for Partner countries are engaged with NATO in tackling 21st century security challenges, including terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and failed states.
NATO regularly consults with its Partners through the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), which provides the overall political framework for relations with Partners. Each Partner is also able to build up an individual relationship with the Alliance through the Partnership for Peace (PfP), a program of practical activities within which Partners can choose their own priorities for cooperation.
Based on the practical cooperation and commitment to democratic principles that underpin the Alliance itself, the purpose of the Partnership for Peace is to increase stability, diminish threats to peace and build strengthened security relationships between individual Partner countries and NATO, as well as among Partner countries.
The essence of the PfP program is the partnership formed individually between each Partner country and NATO, tailored to individual needs and jointly implemented at the level and pace chosen by each participating government.
The formal basis for the Partnership for Peace is the Framework Document, which sets out specific undertakings for each Partner country.
Each Partner makes a number of far-reaching political commitments to preserve democratic societies; to maintain the principles of international law; to fulfill obligations under the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Helsinki Final Act and international disarmament and arms control agreements; to refrain from the threat or use of force against other states; to respect existing borders; and to settle disputes peacefully.
Specific commitments are also made to promote transparency in national defense planning and budgeting to establish democratic control over armed forces, and to develop the capacity for joint action with NATO in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations.
The Framework Document also enshrines a commitment by the Allies to consult with any Partner country that perceives a direct threat to its territorial integrity, political independence or security – a mechanism which, for example, Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* made use of during the Kosovo crisis.
Partner countries choose individual activities based on their ambitions and abilities. These are put forward to the Allies in a Presentation Document.
An Individual Partnership Program (IPP) is then jointly developed and agreed between NATO and each Partner country.
These two-year programs are drawn up from an extensive menu of activities, according to each country’s specific interests and needs. Cooperation focuses in particular on defense-related work, defense reform and managing the consequences of defense reform, but touches on virtually every field of NATO activity, including defense policy and planning, civil-military relations, education and training, air defense, communications and information systems, crisis management, and civil emergency planning.
A new cooperative mechanism, the Partnership Action Plan, was introduced at Prague summit. The first to be developed was the Partnership Action Plan against Terrorism. Another new initiative was the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), which, rather than drawing from a menu of activities, allows the Alliance to tailor its assistance to interested Partner countries which have asked for more structured support for domestic reforms, particularly in the defense and security sector, according to their specific needs and circumstances.
Launched at the November 2002 Prague Summit, Individual Partnership Action Plans (IPAPs) are open to countries that have the political will and ability to deepen their relationship with NATO.
Developed on a two-year basis, such plans are designed to bring together all the various cooperation mechanisms through which a partner country interacts with the Alliance, sharpening the focus of activities to better support their domestic reform efforts.
An IPAP should clearly set out the cooperation objectives and priorities of the individual partner country, and ensure that the various mechanisms in use correspond directly to these priorities. NATO will provide focused, country-specific advice on reform objectives. Intensified political dialogue on relevant issues may be an integral part of an IPAP process.
IPAPs will also make it easier to coordinate bilateral assistance provided by individual Allies and partner countries, as well as to coordinate efforts with other relevant international institutions.
Objectives covered fall into the general categories of political and security issues; defense, security and military issues; public information; science and environment; civil emergency planning; and administrative, protective security and resource issues.
On 29 October 2004, Georgia became the first country to agree an IPAP with NATO. Azerbaijan agreed one on 27 May 2005, Armenia on 16 December 2005, Kazakhstan on 31 January 2006, and Moldova on 19 May 2006. Early 2008, two Balkan countries -- Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro -- started working with NATO on developing IPAPs. Montenegro presented its IPAP to NATO in June 2008.
One of the key PFP coalition initiatives is the PFP Information Management System (PIMS). PIMS was initiated with U.S. funding, and it has received continued U.S. support.
The Partnership for Peace Information Management System (PIMS) is a Department of Defense (DoD) - leadership project that supports bilateral and multilateral security cooperation through the provision of technology that facilitates information sharing and knowledge management concepts in accordance with US policy. Firmly based on OSD Policy requirements, this program is supported by a dedicated communications infrastructure that gives allies and partner countries the ability to collaborate in critical cooperative activities that underpin the spirit of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program.
PIMS is a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Enlargement Facilitation Act of 1996 and implements the Congressional endorsement for the modernization of Defense capabilities in eligible PfP countries relative to their telecommunications infrastructure.
PIMS supports PfP preparation for future coalition initiatives by developing a full range of databases and advanced IT applications to support the practical aspects of US and NATO- approved PfP cooperative activities.
References:
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization http://www.nato.int
- NATO's 60th anniversary http://www.nato.int/60years/
- US Department of Defense http://www.defenselink.mil
- DTIC Online - Public Scientific&technical Information http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/
- The Command and Control Research Paper http://www.dodccrp.org