Origin/ History of NATO

NATO derives its authority from Article 51 of the United Nations charter, which reaffirms the inherent right of individual states, to individual or collective defense. Collective Defense commits members to protect each other and sets a spirit of solidarity within the alliance. All of the decisions made by NATO are made through a consensus so the decisions are fair. Although many say that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in response to the threat of the Soviet Union, this is only partially true because it was created to serve two main purposes. Firstly, the main purpose of NATO was to scare off Soviet expansionism. Secondly, they wanted to forbid the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong American presence on the continent.