INTERNAL DEBATES IN THE U.S. POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT ON THE FORMATION OF NATO (1947 – 1949)

DOI 10.17721/2521-1706.2026.21.1

Mariia Kudasiuk

Master’s Student, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1797-2871
 

Abstract. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of internal political debates in the United States during 1947–1949 concerning the formation of NATO, with a particular focus on the mechanisms of political consensus-building. The study aims to clarify the impact of these debates on the nature of U.S. involvement in the system of collective security and on the treaty-based legal architecture of NATO.

Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the research lies in examining intra-American debates as one of the factors shaping NATO, as well as in highlighting the role of political actors at different levels in the transformation of strategic concepts into a politically accepted model of a multilateral alliance.

Methodology. The methodological framework of the article combines a problem-chronological approach with systemic and comparative analysis. The study is based on a critical examination of a wide range of primary sources from American foreign and security policy. It includes U.S. diplomatic documents, records of interagency meetings, memoranda of the National Security Council and the Department of State, speeches and correspondence of leading political figures (H. S. Truman, G. C. Marshall, D. Acheson, G. F. Kennan, A. H. Vandenberg, etc.), memoirs and oral history sources.

Conclusions. The study demonstrates that U.S. participation in the creation of NATO was not only the result of a linear evolution of the containment doctrine, but also of a complex process of internal political compromise between proponents of limited engagement and the remnants of the isolationist tradition. It is shown that the escalation of international tensions served as a catalyst for shaping a politically acceptable form of allied commitments. The experience of 1947–1949 indicates that the effectiveness of the transatlantic security system was ensured by a balance between alliance obligations and the preservation of sovereign prerogatives of the U.S. political system, which contributed to the long-term viability of NATO and retains analytical relevance for understanding contemporary debates in the U.S. regarding the role of the Alliance.

Key words: United States, NATO, foreign policy, transatlantic relations, political debates, Cold War.

Submitted: 27.12.2025

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