This handbook provides a comprehensive survey of the development and importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), its role in international relations and its influence on history.

The volume examines the Alliance’s evolution in breadth, depth and context by analysing and explaining why and how NATO has endured and remained relevant since its creation. To present an inclusive study of the Alliance’s activities and milestone events and to offer a glimpse of future challenges, the book’s 29 chapters fall into six thematic sections that act as frameworks and allow the exploration of specific topics that pertain to the evolution of NATO:

Part I: History of NATO, 1949–2024

Part II: Key Enduring Themes, 1949–2024

Part III: Military Operations, 1995–2024

Part IV: National Perspectives, 1949–2024

Part V: Regional Perspectives, 1949–2024

Part VI: Future Prospects, 2024–

This handbook will be of much interest to students and researchers of NATO, strategic studies, defence studies and International Relations, as well as for staff and fellows at security- and defence-oriented think tanks and government officials, military personnel and other practitioners in the areas of foreign affairs and defence.