How NATO Adapts

Contrasting NATO with other post-war institutions, johnston highlights the many ways in which the Alliance has evolved since its founding in 1949. In particular, he explores the role of the Alliance's bureaucratic actors in facilitating its many transformations at 'critical junctures' through the years, contending that NATO once again finds itself at such a juncture.

In his insightful new book, "How NATO Adapts", Seth Johnston suggests that NATO is unique among peer international organizations in its ability to adapt

a rich, interesting primer...makes an uplifting case for the power of people to shape institutions and - by extension - the political landscape itself

Seth Johnston has written a timely and important study...NATO has weathered rough seas before, in each case surviving by adapting. In the present climate of geopolitical uncertainty, versatility in one of the main pillars of the post-war order is worth celebrating.

Seth Johnston’s How NATO Adapts untangles the puzzle of one of the most long-standing, well-institutionalized military alliances in the contemporary era. Supporting an institutionalist approach with extensive historical analysis and process tracing, Johnston provides compelling evidence to demonstrate the alliance’s ability to adapt, exercise power and autonomy, and define and execute its objectives independent of the member-states comprising it.

The book of Seth A. Johnston is both a powerful reminder of the Alliance's complex but successful history and, at the same time, a testimony to its unique institutional resilience and adaptability.

Nothing is more important to NATO than the ability to adapt and adjust its approach— tactically, operationally, and strategically—as circumstances change. How NATO Adapts is an honest and unbiased examination of the successes and challenges of this turbulent twenty-first century for the world's premier security Alliance.

How NATO Adapts offers a theoretically innovative and empirically rich account of why this post–World War II military alliance continues to play an important role in today’s multipolar world. This well-researched book constitutes an excellent addition to the growing scholarly literature that applies historical-institutional theories to the study of international relations.

A unique analysis of NATO's evolutionary development, How NATO Adapts effectively employs a useful new prism for examining the alliance. Well-organized and well-written, this book should be of great interest to anyone with an academic or professional interest in NATO's history and institutional dynamics.

A meticulously researched and in-depth historical study of the NATO Alliance and its responses to inflection points throughout its history. Johnston knows NATO, and he knows how to write. How NATO Adapts is illuminating and educational.