A septuagenária NATO – na encruzilhada entre passado bem-sucedido e problemático futuro

This paper focuses in the real present and the predictable future of the oldest allied organization in the world, but a young creature of seventies, absolute record of this kind of alliances which haven´t overcome in general the average period of 15 years of effective longevity. For the development of this work we use the historical successful route made by the Alliance to achieve present times, envisaging to highlight some aspects of today reality, and the main problems NATO is facing in the political and operational fields, the first one subject to hard constraints posed by the current American Administration, thus search rational and plausible reasons to the euro-Atlantic countries keep the interest in, with more investment and assets in the largest and unique world organization responsible for the assurance of the 29 member states collective defense. Can NATO continue to play one of its most important post-Cold War roles if its own members begin to question elements of the political order that NATO is sworn to defend? This essay doesn’t s provide fully satisfactory much less definite answers, but aspire to search for solutions to the challenges NATO faces at the start of its eighth decade. After all, the Alliance has outlasted some phases until now, successfully adapting to each new period while growing in size. Why should the future be any different?