title: The US and NATO Expansion: Fulfilling a Domestic Political Agenda
abstract: The expansion of NATO has certainly been a very controversial issue that still sees the world divided into supporters and opponents. Various reasons have been brought forward to justify why the NATO enlargement decision was taken, inter alia the securitisation and stabilisation of Europe, the democratisation of the countries formerly under the Soviet yoke or the enhancement of the Alliance’s effectiveness and cohesion. Although all such propositions might be valid, this article wants to analyse 
journal: Political Observer | Revista Portuguesa de Ciência Política (Portuguese Journal of Political Science)