A newly elected president declares NATO ‘obsolete’ and announces his country's withdrawal from parts of the transatlantic Alliance. Some European leaders fear a more complete abandonment. Although France remained a treaty ally after Charles de Gaulle's 1966 announcement, this episode remains the most significant rejection of NATO's organisation in its history. And yet, the potentially fatal crisis catalysed adaptations in the Alliance so successful that they endured through the end of the Cold War. This case offers lessons about institutional endurance in the face of such crisis. NATO adapted boldly, but also prudently; slowly perhaps, but effectively. The high politics of competing national interests and the high stakes of nuclear deterrence demanded change but could not afford catastrophe. How institutions adapt – and by whom – can mean the difference between vanishing and revitalising.

中文翻译：

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北约的“濒死”和对“消失的机构”的研究


一位新当选的总统宣布北约“过时”，并宣布他的国家退出跨大西洋联盟的部分地区。一些欧洲领导人担心会更彻底地放弃。尽管在戴高乐 1966 年宣布加入北约后，法国仍然是条约盟友，但这一事件仍然是其历史上对北约组织最重大的拒绝。然而，这场可能致命的危机催化了联盟的适应，如此成功，以至于它们一直持续到冷战结束。本案为机构在面对此类危机时的耐力提供了教训。北约大胆地适应，但也谨慎地适应;也许很慢，但很有效。相互竞争的国家利益的高层政治和核威慑的高风险要求变革，但无法承受灾难。机构如何适应——以及由谁适应——可能意味着消失和振兴之间的区别。