NATO and its Profile During and after the Cold War-era

Abstract

By now it is clear that NATO is a powerful organ to execute missions outside its borders. The
alliance survived because it has gone through a change of its goals and strategies over the
years and thereby adapted to new circumstances. Democracy, stability, security and peace
have been and are still its main goals. To achieve these it was important to change from
confrontation to cooperation and combine military force with diplomatic and humanitarian
efforts. Today NATO has even expanded its actions to further regions, such as the mission in
Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993, Afghanistan, counter-piracy in the Gulf of Aden and combating
cyber-attacks.