Post-Cold War NATO’s core purpose is preventing renewed Russian control of Central Europe

Evidence

The logic of civilizations dictates a similar outcome concerning the expansion of NATO. The Cold War began with the extension of Soviet political and military control into Central Europe. The United States and Western European countries formed NATO to deter and, if necessary, defeat further Soviet aggression. In the post-Cold War world, NATO is the security organization of Western civilization. With the Cold War over, NATO has one central and compelling purpose: to insure that it remains over by preventing the reimposition of Russian political and military control in Central Europe. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 434

Categorization

• XREF: Foreshadows and helps explain Russia’s later grievances over NATO eastward expansion, connecting to post-2014 and 2022 geopolitics. — connects to: NATO stayed cohesive despite neorealist predictions of its collapse — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 57; NATO redefined the post-Soviet threat as indirect but real to justify persisting. — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 86; NATO’s post-cold-war peacekeeping let members act indirectly on concerns without leading. — Robert B. McCalla, NATO’s persistence after the cold war, 129 (+3 more)