nato background (key documents)

overview

this page highlights the primary texts that define nato’s legal basis, political agreements, and military posture. see the full library at /wiki/nato/documents.

founding and cold war context

• north atlantic treaty (1949) → /wiki/nato/documents/north-atlantic-treaty
• warsaw pact treaty (1955) → /wiki/nato/documents/warsaw-pact-treaty
• helsinki final act (1975) → /wiki/nato/documents/helsinki-final-act
• inf treaty (1987) → /wiki/nato/documents/inf-treaty

german reunification and arms control

• two plus four treaty (1990) → /wiki/nato/documents/two-plus-four-treaty
• cfe treaty (1990) → /wiki/nato/documents/cfe-treaty
• vienna document (2011) → /wiki/nato/documents/vienna-document-2011
• open skies treaty → /wiki/nato/documents/open-skies-treaty

partnerships, enlargement, and russia relations

• north atlantic cooperation council (1991) inaugural statement → /wiki/nato/documents/1991-nacc-inaugural-statement
• partnership for peace framework (1994) → /wiki/nato/documents/partnership-for-peace-framework
• study on nato enlargement (1995) → /wiki/nato/documents/1995-study-on-nato-enlargement
• eapc basic document (1997) → /wiki/nato/documents/1997-eapc-basic-document
• nato‑russia founding act (1997) → /wiki/nato/documents/nato-russia-founding-act
• nato‑ukraine charter (1997) → /wiki/nato/documents/nato-ukraine-charter
• membership action plan (1999) → /wiki/nato/documents/1999-membership-action-plan

strategic concepts

• 1991 strategic concept → /wiki/nato/documents/1991-strategic-concept
• 1999 strategic concept → /wiki/nato/documents/1999-strategic-concept
• 2010 strategic concept → /wiki/nato/documents/2010-strategic-concept
• 2022 strategic concept → /wiki/nato/documents/2022-strategic-concept

eu, berlin plus, and nato‑eu cooperation

• st. malo declaration (1998) → /wiki/nato/documents/st-malo-declaration
• berlin plus arrangements (2002–2003) → /wiki/nato/documents/2002-2003-berlin-plus-arrangements
• eu strategic compass (2022) → /wiki/nato/documents/eu-strategic-compass-2022

summit declarations and posture shifts

• prague summit declaration (2002) → /wiki/nato/documents/2002-prague-summit-declaration
• rome declaration: nato‑russia council (2002) → /wiki/nato/documents/2002-rome-declaration-nato-russia-council
• bucharest summit declaration (2008) → /wiki/nato/documents/2008-bucharest-summit-declaration
• wales summit declaration (2014) → /wiki/nato/documents/2014-wales-summit-declaration
• readiness action plan (2014) → /wiki/nato/documents/2014-readiness-action-plan
• warsaw summit communiqué (2016) → /wiki/nato/documents/2016-warsaw-summit-communique
• alliance maritime strategy (2011) → /wiki/nato/documents/2011-alliance-maritime-strategy
• cyber defence pledge (2016) → /wiki/nato/documents/2016-cyber-defence-pledge
• brussels summit declaration (2018) → /wiki/nato/documents/2018-brussels-summit-declaration
• london declaration (2019) → /wiki/nato/documents/2019-london-declaration
• vilnius summit communiqué (2023) → /wiki/nato/documents/2023-vilnius-summit-communique
• washington summit declaration (2024) → /wiki/nato/documents/2024-washington-summit-declaration

force structure and concepts

• nato new force model (2022) → /wiki/nato/documents/2022-nato-new-force-model
• deterrence and defence posture review (2012) → /wiki/nato/documents/2012-deterrence-and-defence-posture-review
• bmd interim capability (2012) → /wiki/nato/documents/2012-bmd-interim-capability
• dda and 2021 nwcc overview → /wiki/nato/documents/2020-dda-and-2021-nwcc-overview

national strategies and related texts

• russia national security strategy (2021) → /wiki/nato/documents/2021-russia-national-security-strategy-summary
• russian military doctrine (2014) → /wiki/nato/documents/russian-military-doctrine-2014
• russian foreign policy concept (2023) → /wiki/nato/documents/russian-foreign-policy-concept-2023
• poland national security strategy (2020) → /wiki/nato/documents/poland-national-security-strategy-2020
• uk integrated review refresh (2023) → /wiki/nato/documents/uk-integrated-review-2023
• us national security strategy (2022) → /wiki/nato/documents/us-national-security-strategy-2022

other relevant agreements

• budapest memorandum (1994) → /wiki/nato/documents/budapest-memorandum
• minsk agreements → /wiki/nato/documents/minsk-agreements
• montreux convention (straits) → /wiki/nato/documents/montreux-convention
• black sea grain initiative → /wiki/nato/documents/black-sea-grain-initiative