The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of two strategic concepts of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from 1991 and 1999. The new geopolitical reality of the post-bipolar period obliged NATO’s leadership to search for a new mission and forms of international engagement. The doctrinal guidelines and principles declared in the first two strategies of the “new era” played an important role in this process. The reorientation towards strategic openness, as well as more peaceful and cooperative approaches, became the distinctive features of the 1991 strategic concept. However, it soon became clear that the elimination of some threats led to the emergence of new ones. Political crises in the post-Soviet space, the war in Yugoslavia, and crises in the Middle East all contributed to an intensification of the Alliance’s peacekeeping efforts, confirming a shift in the methods for ensuring stability and regional security.
strategic concept; North Atlantic Alliance; United States; evolution; “defense plus dialogue, plus cooperation”; Euro-Atlantic region; nature of risks.