...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing.... Its own bids to join the institutions sputtered and stalled, primarily over a bitter and decades-long name dispute with neighboring Greece.
Now, North Macedonia will get a first taste of membership, following a historic deal that resolved the dispute last June. Its foreign minister, Nikola Dimitrov, will attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Washington on Thursday‐ahead of what North Macedonia hopes will be full membership by the end of the year.
"It is quite a privilege to finally be around the table," Dimitrov told Foreign Policy in an interview. "Those on the inside forget how cold it is outside."
Dimitrov’s spot at the NATO table is a significant step for the small southeastern European country of 2 million. It also represents one of the few feel-good stories for an alliance embroiled in tense standoffs with Russia and suffering from internal divisions‐including regular swipes from the U.S. president.
"I think there is a great measure of enthusiasm and excitement also among the allies," Dimitrov said.
The deal between Athens and Skopje also brings a new dynamic to the Balkans region, still mired in political tensions two decades after the devastating wars of the 1990s and suffering setbacks to democratic reforms.
North Macedonia’s NATO membership would be a blow for Russia, which has tried to strong-arm smaller Balkan countries into staying out of the West’s orbit. Moscow was reportedly behind a botched coup plot in Montenegro in 2016, ahead of elections there widely viewed as a referendum on the country joining NATO. The plot was foiled, and Montenegro became the 29th member in 2017.
U.S. President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
, who has repeatedly questioned the utility of NATO and pushed allies to spend more on defense, cast doubt in an interview last year on whether having Montenegro in the alliance was valuable. Some U.S. officials are nervous that he may take a similar view of North Macedonia.
In the interview in July 2018, Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked Trump: "Why should my son go to Montenegro to defend it from attack?"
"I understand what you’re saying. I’ve asked the same questions. Montenegro is a tiny country with very strong people," Trump said. "[They have] very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and then congratulations, you’re in World War III."
When asked about this exchange, Dimitrov said he believed there was "very strong bipartisan support" in Washington for North Macedonia joining NATO and that the alliance would strengthen its hand by bringing new members into the fold. He added that Trump recently sent his prime minister a letter praising the name deal with Greece as "probably the biggest achievement in the region since Dayton," referring to the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the war in Bosnia.