nato in canada’s geopolitical interests

Canada, as one of the founding countries, plays an active role in NATO since its establishment and till the modern stage. Canadian military forces participate in international peacekeeping operations, counter­terrorism and maintaining security in the transatlantic area. Despite the close relationship with the US as a military, political and economic areas, Canada has always tried to conduct an independent policy within NATO. Canada national interests and NATO influence expand overlapping on the Arctic region deserves special attention. Canada’s position on the role of NATO in the Arctic rather contradictory. Canada fears the growing influence in the Arctic region of the NATO member countries, which are not the Arctic states as in the case of Britain. Canada has long been promoting the idea of the alliance’s transformation into the global organization like the United Nations Organization, which set a goal to provide security around the world. In fact, Canada seeks the creation of a «world policeman» who has modern special forces intended to participate in conflicts in different parts of the world. Also there is another scenario ­ the preservation of NATO as a «Eurocentric hybrid» with the former focusing on European security.