14
Allied Command Transformation, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, overseas the
transformation of NATO’s military capabilities. The military headquarters and commands
produce a very high level of military integration in NATO.
Heads of State and Defense and Foreign Ministers regularly meet to discuss common
objectives within the alliance. Summits are held approximately once per year; Ministerial Meetings
are held several times per year. The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s main political body, meets
weekly at the level of Permanent Ambassador. There is also a significant civilian and military
committee structure with a large international staff (of approximately 5,500 civilians worldwide) to
manage the alliance. The civilian side of the secretariat includes (in part) a Public Policy Division,
Division of Political Affairs and Security Policy, and Division of Defense Investment. The military
side of the secretariat includes (also in part) a Plans and Policy Division, Operations and
Intelligence Divisions, and a Financial Controller. Each member state also has a dedicated
national staff at NATO headquarters and at each of the commands.
NATO also exhibits a significant amount of military cooperation. Regular military exercises
are held to provide standardized training for various international crises. Representative exercises
in 2005 included Sorbet Royal (June-July), which sought to improve interoperability of US,
NATO, and Russia and Ukraine (partner nations) forces; Clean Hunter (August-September), a live
air exercise “designed to retain the alliance’s ability to defend and to conduct offensive, defensive,
and supporting air operations”;
19
and Cooperative Key (2005), a humanitarian assistance exercise,
to provide service members from NATO and partner states the opportunity to enhance
interoperability.
20
Additional standardization occurs by means of NATO Standardization
Agreements (STANAG), which are commitments by member nations to adopt standard
equipment, supplies, ammunitions, as well as operational, logistic, and administrative
procedures.
21
The NATO Standardization Agency coordinates standardization.
Institutional Depth: 10 (of 12)
The fundamental values NATO allies share are a commitment to (1) shared security, (2)
democratic norms and procedures, (3) consultation and dialogue, and (4) partnership. The first
three norms are specified in the preamble and the opening articles of the North Atlantic Treaty.
They have been reiterated in numerous NATO documents, ministerial communiqués, and
speeches ever since.
22
Indeed, NATO has been described as an institution “explicitly built around
norms of democratic decision-making, that is, non-hierarchy, frequent consultation implying co-
determination, and consensus-building.”
23
Partnership is a newer norm that developed in the post-
Cold War environment. It refers to a broader conception of security achieved by cooperation
19
“2005 Exercises,” United States European Command,
http://www.eucom.mil/english/Exercises/main.asp?YR=2005
.
20
Tech. Sgt. Chance Babin, “Cooperative Key ’05 Kicks Off,” Air Force Link,” August 26, 2005,
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID-123011452
.
21
See NATO, Standardization Agreements,
http://www.nato.int/docu/standard.htm
.
22
Official Alliance documents are available from
http://www.nato.int/docu/home.htm#Official
.
23
Thomas Risse-Kappen, Cooperation Among Democracies: The European Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1995), 36.
Convention