Poltoratskiy A. The Role of NATO in the Formation of Modern System of International Security.

The thesis is focused on the analysis of formation of the system of international security considering the evolution of its environment, key factors, challenges and risks as keen for functioning of such a system at the present stage of global development. The author estimates the expediency of further development of this system on the basis of NATO given that the Alliance remains the most effective and highly developed military and political security structure in the Euro-Atlantic region. In this respect the existing system of Euro-Atlantic security is seen as integral part of perspective evolution of its macrostructure - the system of international security. The thesis analyses basic trends of NATO's transformation, assesses the evolution of the Alliance's defense and political strategy as it was stipulated in its Strategic Concepts of 1991 and 1999. Efforts are made as well to evaluate NATO's practical activities, particularly the process of enlargement, the character, consequences and lessons of Alliance's peacemaking operations in the Balkans, the input of the Organisation into the struggle against international terrorism. The author pays special attention to the problem of further development of relations between Ukraine and NATO which are viewed as a principal factor of Ukraine's national security and basic prerequisite of its integration to the system of Euro-Atlantic security taking into account the country's latest strategic developments in this field.