58
legitimate basis for domestic security.”
98
Such thinking is not inconsistent with the logic that drove NATO’s first post-Cold War
round of enlargement. At the time, it was also well recognized that military security was
essential to the consolidation of domestic reforms. In fact, the Clinton administration
consistently argued that enlarging NATO would project stability to the east by allowing
fledgling democracies to consolidate internal reforms. In one sense the argument appeared
somewhat circuitous in that prospective members were expected to demonstrate a certain level
of political reform prior to being admitted. At the same time, however, the argument assumed
security and democracy to be mutually reinforcing objectives, which must be achieved in tandem.
Democratic reforms were understood to require stability, but long-term stability in turn hinged
upon the consolidation of democracy.
98
Blank, “Democratic Prospects in Central Asia,” p. 136.
Convention