The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a transatlantic alliance that brings together European and North American nations in a cooperative defense pact. Founded by the signing of the Washington Treaty in 1949, NATO’s essential and enduring mission is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members. This mission is carried out through the principle of collective defense, meaning that an armed attack against one Ally is treated as an attack against all. In practice, no member country stands alone in the face of a threat – each can rely on the support and military capabilities of the entire Alliance, a unified stance that greatly strengthens deterrence and helps keep the Euro-Atlantic region stable and at peace.

Beyond protecting its members’ territory, NATO also plays a proactive role in preventing conflicts and managing crises to preserve international stability. Crises and security challenges arising outside NATO’s borders can pose risks to Allied nations in an interconnected world. To address this, the Alliance engages in efforts to prevent conflicts, defuse crises, and stabilize post-conflict situations, whenever possible and necessary. NATO also pursues a policy of cooperative security by working with partner countries and other international organizations (such as the United Nations and the European Union) to promote broader global peace and security. While NATO does not focus on any specific military operation in this overview, its combined efforts in deterrence, defense, diplomacy and partnership all serve the goal of conflict prevention and crisis management on the world stage.

NATO’s modus operandi is highly collaborative. As an intergovernmental organization, it provides a permanent forum where member governments consult together on security issues and coordinate their policies. All NATO decisions are made by consensus, requiring agreement among all member states. This approach means every Ally has an equal voice in discussions and decisions. The consensus-based decision-making process fosters unity and trust, ensuring that NATO actions reflect the collective will of its members. It exemplifies the Alliance’s spirit of mutual commitment and guarantees that political and military decisions have the full backing of all Allies.

In response to evolving global threats, NATO places a strong emphasis on innovation and technological cooperation in the service of security. The Alliance actively works to maintain its technological edge by investing in emerging and disruptive technologies – from cyber defense and artificial intelligence to space and quantum technologies – that can enhance collective defense capabilities. NATO works closely with the private sector, academia and civil society to develop and responsibly adopt these new technologies, ensuring they are used in line with Allied principles and ethical standards. In recent years, NATO members have launched major joint initiatives to spur innovation across the Alliance, such as the Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) program and the NATO Innovation Fund – a venture capital fund of approximately €1 billion dedicated to supporting cutting-edge security tech start-ups. These efforts underscore NATO’s commitment to harnessing technology and research through Allied cooperation, so that the Alliance can adapt and stay ahead of emerging security challenges.

Another cornerstone of NATO’s strength is the principle of burden sharing, which ensures that all Allies contribute fairly to the collective defense. Each member country makes significant national investments in its own defense and also contributes to NATO’s common budgets, which fund the Alliance’s shared infrastructure, headquarters and military command structure. Notably, NATO Defence Ministers have agreed that every Ally should aim to spend at least 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense – a guideline that serves as an indicator of each nation’s political will to support the overall Alliance effort. Over the past decade, European Allies and Canada have steadily increased their collective defense spending, moving from about 1.43% of their combined GDP in 2014 to around 2.02% in 2024 (representing a total of over $485 billion in 2024). This growing financial commitment, alongside direct contributions to NATO’s operating budgets, provides the resources and capabilities the Alliance needs to fulfill its missions. By sharing the defense burden and investing together in the future, NATO members demonstrate unity and ensure that the Alliance remains ready to safeguard their common security on all fronts.