NATO's developing role in the Mediterranean and Greater Middle East

The article analyses the growing involvement of NATO in the Mediterranean and greater Middle Eastern region since the collapse of the Soviet bloc and its significance for the alliance’s overall evolution. It argues that, while many expected the alliance to lose relevance and wither away in the post-Cold War realities of international politics, NATO has managed to adapt to the changed international system and redefine its role. One of the most innovative features of this adaptation has been the establishment of ties with non-European states and the adoption of responsibilities beyond the territory of its member states, which is normally described with the expression ‘out-of-area’.