The North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an
intergovernmental military partnership based on the
North Atlantic Treaty which was signed in 1949. The
organization comprises of a system of combined defense
whereby its member agree to a mutual assault in response
to an attack by any foreign party. NATO's headquarter is
located in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member
states across North America and Europe. An additional 22
countries participate in NATO's "joint venture for
Peace", with 15 other states involved in
institutionalized discourse programs. The combined
military spending of all NATO members constitutes over
70% of the world's defense spending
[30].
