This would have a profound impact on NATO's defence posture. The use of weapons could no longer be restricted purely to self-defence and further changes in NATO's command and force structures were required. In the spirit of its broad approach to security, NATO's new missions would also be carried out in cooperation with non-NATO countries. There is no doubt that cooperation with Russia and other partners in the former Yugoslavia was an enormous breakthrough that contributed immensely to the transformation of the Alliance. Towards a new Alliance Strategic Concept NATO's successful adaptation has no precedents.
History shows that traditional military alliances disappear once victory has been won.
But NATO did not disappear. Rather than dying off, large organisations usually go through a process of functional transformation. During the 1990s, NATO has evolved to the extent that crisis management and conflict prevention are now its primary missions. However, the Alliance Strategic Concept has been left behind by the reality of this transformation. As a result, the Strategic Concept no longer serves its political purpose, namely expressing what the Alliance stands for at the present time.