Defence Forces Review 2010

Abstracts – 65 Senior Command and Staff CourseFrom Adversary to Ally? A Case Study of Georgia’s Compatibilitywith the NATO Security CommunityComdt Robert McDonald. BA Phys EdABSTRACTThe changing relationship between members of Cold War Alliances and their formeradversaries has been a remarkable geo-strategic development following the fall of the SovietUnion in 1991. NATO’s membership has increased from 12 to 28 countries through six roundsof enlargement aimed at enhancing security and extending stability, building a Europe wholeand free, united in peace, democracy and common values. In April 2008, NATO leaders agreedthat Georgia will become a future member, an act that would push NATO to Russia’s southernborder. Future NATO enlargement into potential regions of hostility and conflict now makethe study of prospective member compatibility and accession pre-requisites more significantthan any previous rounds of enlargement.Taking Georgia as a case study, this thesis utilised a strategic culture framework, with itsemphasis on the roles of values, ideas and institutions pertaining to the use of force, to exploreevidence of Georgian subscription to core NATO values. The nature of the issue required anarrative approach to elicit rich data from stories presented by the author who lived in Georgiafrom October 2006 until July 2008 and returned to Georgia following the August 2008 SouthOssetian conflict.The main findings provide evidence of Georgian strategic cultural inconsistency with NATOmembership and also imply that NATO accession based on objective benchmarks, whilstignoring cultural factors, has serious security implications as these benchmarks fail to providea true picture of an aspirants’ NATO compatibility.On the basis of the findings it is recommended that Georgia, in pursuing its departurefrom Russia’s influence, would be better served by adopting relationships based on factorsother than military alliances and collective defence. Furthermore, it is recommended thatthe security implication of NATO enlargement into areas of diverse cultures and regionalinstability warrants more serious future consideration.115