Okuzeka
International Relations & Diplomacy vocabulary · International Organisations

NATO

Meaning in international relations & diplomacy, with examples

/ˈneɪtəʊ/abbreviationCore term

In international relations & diplomacy, NATO means: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance of North American and European states founded in 1949, whose members commit to defending each other.

In Turkish: NATO, Kuzey Atlantik Antlaşması Örgütü

How it is used

Pronounced as one word and used without 'the'. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty says that an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all. Its headquarters are in Brussels, and it takes decisions by consensus.

Example sentences

  1. NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels next week.

  2. The country joined NATO after all members had ratified its accession protocol.

  3. NATO takes its decisions by consensus, so every ally has a voice.

Common collocations

  • NATO member
  • NATO allies
  • NATO summit
  • join NATO
  • NATO headquarters
  • allianceA formal agreement between two or more states to support each other, especially militarily, and the group of states that make such an agreement.
  • collective securityAn arrangement in which states agree that an attack or threat against one of them concerns all of them and will be answered jointly.
  • deterrenceThe strategy of preventing an attack by making a possible attacker believe that the costs, such as a strong response, would be greater than any gain.
  • consensusGeneral agreement among all participants, often reached without a formal vote because no one objects to a proposal.
  • international organisationA body set up by agreement between states, with its own members, rules and permanent staff, to deal with shared problems such as security, trade, health or development.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: International Organisations

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: