| Summary: | NATO is acutely aware of its increased status as a force for stability in a drastically altered Atlantic community. The number of its initiatives is on the increase just as a new political, economic and military Europe emerges. The Cold War's end has wrought as many changes as there are continuities in the security environment. Eastern and Central European states, especially NATO and PfP members, enjoy an increasing importance to NATO, both as trading partners and as new participants in the civil society. While the literature on relations between NATO and the East Europeans is rather limited, the study of the overall posture of those states in the international system is almost non-existent, so that the consequences of their posture for NATO's renewed concept are unknown. The study of these countries' security posture and strategic interactions with Central European states in general promotes the renewed role of NATO. This book shows that each of the long-term relations with Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria is subordinated to the goal of entering the European Union, and that their different values will makes relations difficult. This will test NATO's new strategic concept to the limit. It also shows the importance of strategic thinking.
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