Publication

This essay argues that the effort to reform command structures in NATO is the most contentious issue the Alliance has confronted since 1991, even more than membership expansion. It begins of the Long-Term Study (LTS) and the "reformed" command structure as agreed at the Defence Planning Committee (DPC) meeting in December 1997. It offers three case studies to show how the reform process has been stymied by inflexible national political agenda: the Danish position regarding Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (BALTAP), Portugal and its command of Allied Forces Iberian Atlantic Area (IBERLANT), and France's claim that the Commander- in-Chief Southern Region should be a European flag officer.