Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Transforming NATO: New Allies, Missions, and Capabilities, by Ivan Dinev Ivanov, examines the three dimensions of NATO's transformation since the end of the Cold War: the addition of a dozen new allies; the undertaking of new missions such as peacekeeping, crisis response, and stabilization; and the development of new capabilities to implement these missions. The book explains these processes through two mutually reinforcing frameworks: club goods theory and the concept of complementarities. NATO can be viewed as a diverse, heterogeneous club of nations providing collective defense to its members, who, in turn, combine their military resources in a way that enables them to optimize the Alliance's capabilities needed for overseas operations. Transforming NATO makes a number of theoretical contributions. First, it offers new insights into understanding how heterogeneous clubs operate. Second, it introduces a novel concept, that of complementarities. Finally, it re-evaluates the relevance of club goods theory as a framework for studying contemporary international security. These conceptual foundations apply to areas well beyond NATO. They provide useful insights into understanding the operation of transatlantic relations, alliance politics, and a broader set of international coalitions and partnerships. This update in April 2013 covers new developments related to NATO's transformation after this book was originally published: http: //homepages.uc.edu/ ivanovid/pdfs/book_update.pdf
Synopsis
Transforming NATO: New Allies, Missions and Capabilities, by Ivan Dinev Ivanov, reveals that in order to understand the complexity of NATO's transformation, one must explore the management of allied relations through two mutually reinforcing theoretical lenses: club goods theory and the concept of complementarities. The findings of this research have implications for international security, alliance management, NATO politics, transatlantic relations, and broader international relations theory.