Analysing the Options to End the Russia–Ukraine Crisis

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance between the United States (US), Canada, and a large part of Europe. It began in 1949 to deter a Soviet attack on western Europe. This is an old collective defence initiative from the US; it works like this—if one country attacks a member nation, you will get a response from all the member nations. NATO, primarily intended as a method of collective defence to deter the then Soviet Union, has become an instrument of the US hegemony.

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, NATO has no purpose but to cease to exist. But the US had steadfastly refused to dismantle NATO, using the European security structure as a last resort to justify its existence. With the end of the Cold War, NATO has been scrambling to discover new rationales. NATO has been trying to expand out of Europe into the Gulf, Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia), Kosovo, Libya, and Afghanistan. It is also working outside of its traditional security and military issues into terrorism and narcotics. This proves NATO’s desperation to stay relevant. Throughout the years, it had grown to include 30 countries, including the Baltic states; these countries had been part of the Soviet Union and also of Russia’s empire during the Czarist era. NATO has opened its doors to former members of the Warsaw Pact and some states that were previously a part of the Soviet Union moving closer to the Russian region. The expansion of NATO has been expressed as a significant threat to Russia by President Vladimir Putin. As the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has taken place in a full-fledged order, there have been multiple arguments and discussions on the rising need for dismantling NATO.