The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/10474552-2009-033The eastward enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization continues
unabated. In 2009 the alliance welcomed Croatia and Albania into the
fold. Discussions over possible membership continue with the Republic of
Georgia and Ukraine. Current NATO policy is also in favor of Montenegro’s
and Bosnia-Herzegovina’s joining some day. However, recent international
events and continued shortcomings in these countries’ domestic political
institutions preclude entry any time soon. In contrast, the Former Yugoslavia
Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) ranks high among the countries that
have supposedly made the most significant progress in the reforms necessary
to secure membership. If the Greek government had not vetoed inclusion
of FYROM in the latest round of expansion with the rest of the Adriatic-3
(FYROM with Croatia and Albania), NATO would most likely have admitted
it in January 2009 as its twenty-ninth member
