What is NATO? Why Article 4 could be a glimmer of hope in a sea of election interference
By The Timeline, Editor in Chief
International political relations are complex, requiring a high degree of diplomacy and well-defined alliances between countries in order to maintain peace.
NATO–The North Atlantic Treaty Organization–was founded in 1949 when the original 12 members signed the treaty, often referred to as the Washington Treaty. Those 12 members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Formed after the devastation of World War II, the treaty asked each member country to commit to mutual assistance in defense against the Soviet Union and its efforts to expand its reach and control further into Europe–and beyond. Under the treaty, the members also shared values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and individual liberty, and had to refrain from international commitments that conflict with the Charter of the United Nations.
Since its founding, NATO’s goals have not changed and the treaty has not been rewritten, save for amendments in the form of accession protocol for new member states; a member has never withdrawn from the treaty.
While NATO’s treaty contains many provisions for international relations, interest has recently been piqued regarding Article 4, which states, “the Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.” Consultation is “at the heart of NATO” and decisions are made through consensus following consultation between member countries.
Invocation of Article 4 has only taken place seven times since NATO was formed, including a call in 2022 from Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Given the relationship between NATO’s founding and concerns regarding the Soviet Union’s efforts to expand their reach into other nations, it appears as though certain current events in the USA would fall under the qualifications for Article 4 to be invoked. This is only further confirmed by the publication of the Department of the Treasury report detailing Russian election interference via numerous tactics including misinformation campaigns.
Questions about Donald Trump’s ties to Russia and other questionable figures have swirled through the political zeitgeist for several years now, with as few as two degrees of separation between the President and Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, being documented numerous times. A certain level of seeming camaraderie seems to exist between Trump and Putin, with the two allegedly being in open communication even during the periods in which Trump was not in office in the United States.
The USA is not the only country dealing with election interference investigations involving Russia and other figures like Elon Musk. Germany has openly denounced Musk’s involvement with their politics and in particular his affinity for far-right and neo-Nazi groups, and is working to counter Russian interference in their own election.
France has also been fighting Russian cybercampaigns, and has urged the European Union to crack down on Musk for election interference.
Musk’s efforts have worked to sow discord in politics in the United Kingdom as well, even going so far as posting “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government” via a poll on X (Twitter).
Given Musk’s role in Trump’s administration, heading up the unapproved-by-congress Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), this only raises more concerns regarding the web of Russian interference and worldwide impacts on human rights, progress, and what comes next.