NATO

Definition

NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an intergovernmental military alliance formed in 1949. It was created as a collective defense measure to ensure the security and protection of its member countries.

Related terms

Warsaw Pact: A mutual defense treaty established by the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries in response to NATO.

Cold War: A period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, characterized by political, economic, and ideological rivalry.

Iron Curtain: Winston Churchill's term for the division between Western Europe (capitalist democracies) and Eastern Europe (Soviet-controlled communist states) during the Cold War.