Thesis (MA) - Cyprus International University. Institute of Graduate Studies and Research International Relations Department

Includes bibliography (sheets 52-56)

ABSTRACT
NATO is a multinational organization that offers its members a place where they can
discuss any issue that interests them and make decisions about political and military
issues that have an impact on their degree of safety. NATO's main goal is to protect its
member states' sovereignty and security through political and military methods. It
seeks to expand its regions by military interventions and political tenacity in order to
become the most potent alliance in the world. The United States of America has
arranged it well. Other superpowers, such as China and Russia, have however faced
fierce opposition to this. The effects of NATO have been felt ever since the collapse
of the USSR and most recently during the Ukraine-Russian War. The specific effects
of her growth and the responses from other world powers would be the focus of further
research. With Finland and Sweden joining NATO, the Alliance will eventually grow
from 30 to 32, giving a large increase in Arctic capabilities, creating a Nordic bastion,
and further restricting Russia's aggressive imperialism. Just recently, NATO
membership for Finland and Sweden was approved. The proposed expansion is
expected to increase security for the Baltic states, which have been NATO members
since 2004 and whose defense planners have long been concerned that Russia could
seize Finnish and Swedish islands in the Baltic Sea, particularly Gotland, and use them
as bases to launch attacks on their territories
Keywords: Finland, NATO, Russia, Swedes, United States, USSR