No. 116: NATO's Chicago Summit: Alliance Cohesion Above All Else?
Author(s): Stéfanie von Hlatky Udvarhelyi
Editor(s): Daniel Möckli
Series: CSS Analysis in Security Policy
Issue: 116
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich
Publication Year: 2012
The NATO Summit in Chicago was mainly about the alliance's collective defense capabilities and the end of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. The concept of Smart Defense is a compelling idea given the economic climate, but implementation challenges remain. NATO allies demonstrated a unified front on nuclear capabilities and missile defense, though political controversies are bound to resurface. What the Chicago Summit highlighted was the extent to which NATO has come to be defined by the missions it undertakes and the coalition of states that choose to participate.