NATO Expansion to the East: Georgia’s Way to NATO Membership, Perspectives and Challenges

Abstract

The article explores possible NATO enlargement to the East. The study is based on case study analyses and has two objectives:to provide analyses of the dynamics of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic process, and to show how this process corresponds to
existing experience and practice. Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, integration path, and domestic and external factors have all been taken into consideration, as have the degree to which Russia can negatively influence the eastward enlargement process, and what candidate/aspirant countries can offer NATO to secure future membership. The authors present scenarios that are likely to affect domestic and international changes with regard to future NATO membership.