Northern Treaty Organization
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| Formation | April 4, 1960 |
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| Type | Military alliance and socioeconomic organization |
| Purpose | To protect democracy and preserve peace and stability in North America and Europe |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Membership | 34 member states |
Official language | English · German |
 Charles Fenn | |
 Ivan Valach | |
The North Treaty Organization (NTO, German: Nördliche Vertragsorganisation), also called the Northern Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance of 34 North American and European countries. The organization implements the Northern Treaty that was signed on April 4, 1960. The NTO constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NTO's Headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations for North America is near Saint Anthony, Superior, and for Europe near Zossen, Germany. Politically, most of its member states are also members of either the Conference of American States (CAS) or the European Community (EC).
The initial signatories to the Northern Treaty in London, on April 4, 1960, were Sierra, Alaska, Superior] Manitoba, Astoria, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The alliance was established as the Cold War began to prevent a Continental invasion of Western North America or the rise of Landonism in Europe. In North America it served as a counterweight to the Chattanooga Pact, and replaced the previous North American Defense Organization (NADO) which had previously consisted of Superior, Sierra, Manitoba, Astoria, and Alaska, which had been formed in 1941. The Northern Treaty Organization expanded the collective security framework to include European countries and formed the core of what Sierran Foreign Minister John Avery envisioned would be a network of alliances in different parts of the world aimed at containing communism and Landonism. The organization's membership expanded over time, eventually including most of the non-Landonist countries in Europe, and by the start of the 21st century became the world's largest military alliance. The mutual defense clause of the Northern Treaty has only been invoked once, by several North American countries after the September 11 attacks in 2003. Because of the attacks on member states, the rest of the alliance agreed to assist these countries in the 2004 invasion of Syria.
The Northern Council is the main decision making body of the organization and forms its civilian leadership, consisting of a representatives or ambassador from each member nation. The Council elects the Secretary General, who is the administrative and political head of the NTO. The military command structure is headed by the Northern Military Committee, which consists of all of the chiefs of the armed forces of each member country or their representative. There are three supreme commanders and three allied commands that have tactical and operational control over assigned military units from NTO, which can be assigned or removed as needed, and potentially can be given command over entire national armed forces in wartime.
In addition to the 34 member states, there are several countries that are either designated as a "major non-NTO ally" or are members of the Partnership for Peace program run by the NTO. Together with the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization (IPTO) established in 2006 and the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) established in 1973, it is considered to be the biggest part of the world's security architecture since the end of the Cold War, with member states across Europe, North America, and Asia.
Background
History
Military operations
Colombia War
Syrian Civil War
Membership
Currently almost every European country (except Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and the Anatolian Republic) and the majority of North American countries (except the United Commonwealth, Greenland, Quebec, Mexico, the Maritimes, and Tournesol) are members of the NTO.
Enlargement
Partnerships with third countries and organizations
Partnership for Peace
The Partnership for Peace is a program that was formed in 1985 to begin integrating other countries in the NTO framework without having formal membership. It aims to build cooperation between NTO countries and other states in security issues, military cooperation, scientific research, disaster planning and response, and policy planning between civilian governments.
The Partnership for Peace currently includes Greenland and Switzerland.
Major non-NTO allies
Northern Treaty Cooperation Council
The Northern Treaty Cooperation Council was established in 1998 to serve as a forum to promote dialogue and cooperation between the countries of the NTO and the Chattanooga Pact as the Cold War ended. All NTO and Chattanooga Pact member states participate in the NTCC. The organization is also sometimes called the NTO–Chattanooga Council, and its first meeting took place in January 1999, with the goal of establishing stability and security cooperation in a post-Cold War world.
Council meetings took place between 1999 and 2021, having been suspended since the start of the 2021 Caribbean diplomatic crisis.
Indo-Pacific and Central Treaty Organizations
Combined Armed Forces of America
Structure
All agencies of the Northern Treaty Organization are divided between either the civilian or military function, and between the two, the civilian political structure forms the main leadership of the NTO. It is headed by the Northern Council, normally consisting of either permanent representatives and ambassadors sent by each member state, or a specific official (defense or foreign affairs minister). The Council is the main decision-making body of the entire organization and elects a Secretary General who is the administrative and political head of the alliance.
The military structure includes the Northern Military Committee (MC), consisting of the representatives of the Chiefs of Defense of every member state, and exists to provide military advice to the civilian Northern Council. The Committee is headed by a Chairman.
Operationally, there is one military officer that is appointed the Supreme Commander for each major theater of operations – Europe, the Americas, and the Atlantic. The Allied Joint Operations Command is responsible for all NTO deployments outside of its normal area of responsibility, such as in Africa or in the Middle East. It also tasked with cooperating with allies in the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization and the Central Treaty Organization.
All national militaries of NTO states train for interoperability, and in the event of a war would fall under the NTO command structure, which is geographically and functionally organized as follows:
Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) – Supreme Allied Commander America and Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Allied Naval Command (NAVCOM) – Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
Allied Aerospace Command (AEROCOM) – Supreme Allied Commander America and Supreme Allied Commander Europe
See also
- Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization
- Central Treaty Organization
- Chattanooga Pact
- Continental Organization of North American States
- Combined Armed Forces of America
| Attribution notices | ||
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- Start-class articles
- Altverse II
- NTO
- Military alliances involving Sierra
- Military alliances involving Brazoria
- Military alliances involving Superior
- Military alliances involving Manitoba
- Military alliances involving the United Kingdom
- Military alliances involving Germany
- Military alliances involving France
- Military alliances involving Astoria
- Military alliances involving Spain
- Military alliances involving the Netherlands
- Military alliances involving Russia
- Military alliances involving Sweden
- 1960 establishments in the United Kingdom
- International organisations based in London
- Military units and formations established in 1960