NATO and the European Union: Partners or competitors in promoting international security?

Although there were some hesitations at the end of the Cold War, NATO has survived as a collective defense organization and adapted itself to the changing security dynamics of the post-Cold War era. For instance, by `out-ofarea? policies, NATO shifted its focus from collective defense to collective security and played an active role, especially in the Euro-Atlantic region, in stabilizing the turmoil that occurred after the Cold War. Even though the principle of collective defense has remained as the primary aim of NATO, the Allies produced new security strategies, which involve a comprehensive security understanding in the post-Cold War era. Meanwhile after the Maastricht Treaty, the EU has taken steps to complete its political and military union besides economic. It is willing to play more active, firstly in the European region and later in the global context; it is not yet clear how effective the EU?s role will be as an international actor. Recently, the EU?s relations with the US have undergone a serious crisis with the Iraqi intervention. Especially, the EU?s search for multilateralism in contrast to the US unilateral policies in the new millennium, created problems for the political and military unity between the two sides of the Atlantic as well as for NATO. The different views which are emphasized for promoting international security in the US and EU security documents reflect the diverging policies of both sides. Yet, the deep-rooted partnership between the United States and the EU members based on NATO is indispensable for the both sides. The United States needs European cooperation and the EU needs the US support and partnership. For the Transatlantic security in particular and the global security in general, the United States and Europe are still partners. But in the conduct of their security policies for promoting international security, they have given different views recently. Thus, the divergence of policies renders the both sides of the Atlantic as competitors. Key Words: NATO, ESDP, transatlantic security relations, international security, the Iraqi War.