NATO Persistence and Expansion: Case Study of the Republic of North Macedonia

The origin of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) can be found in its members perceived need to balance rising Soviet power in the aftermath of World War II, however, the breakdown of Soviet rule in the late 1980s did not prompt NATO's collapse. Many scholars expected NATO to fade out after the soviet threat disappeared nut NATO continues to persist and even expand in membership, function and structure. The purpose of this thesis therefore, is to analyse the possible reasons for NATO‘s persistence, and the factors that make it attractive to new members in the Post-Cold War era. In this dissertation, it will be argued that NATO persists and expands owing to the fact that, it balances the resurfaced Russian threat, given there exist, the fear of unknown threat, which can be from any country especially with the increase in nuclear activities, also, NATO continues to make itself attractive and relevant by carrying out certain key internal alliance and eternal functions for and on behalf of its allies, lastly there are no feasible alternatives to NATO therefore, considering the cost of establishing one, will lead to the appreciation and growth.