Romania’s bid to join NATO in the first wave of enlargement: A preliminary assessment based on U.S. documents
Romania’s bid to join NATO in the first wave of enlargement: A preliminary assessment based on U.S. documents

Summary/Abstract: Based on declassified documents from the Clinton library and the Department of State, this article examines the U.S. decision in favor of restricting the first round of NATO enlargement to only three new members, thus leaving Romania in the waiting room, despite the massive diplomatic efforts of the new government, resulted from the 1996 elections. The article delves into the connection between the open door policy and the NATO-Russia relationship, arguing that the U.S. decision sought to increase confidence in NATO’s promise of having subsequent accession rounds in order to reduce Baltic pressures for membership, to avoid the perception of a Russian veto over NATO decisions and, eventually, to lessen further Russian antagonism by continuing enlargement in a gradual manner and making thereby the process more acceptable to Moscow. The U.S. approach was to start with a smaller group of the strongest candidates while keeping promising candidates for the next rounds in order to guarantee the credibility of the open door policy.

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