SLOVENIA'S MILITARY PATH TO THE ALLIANCE

Abstract

Abstract In 2019, while the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its existence, Slovenia is celebrating the 15th anniversary of membership of it. Two more anniversaries must also be highlighted: namely the 25th anniversary of the beginning of international military cooperation by the Slovenian Armed Forces, and the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the declaration on the fulfilment of the conditions for the army to be fully integrated into the Alliance. In addition, the Slovenian military path to the Alliance has several other interesting facts and special features that are presented in this article. These include the relatively short transition from the army consisting solely of a military reserve and later a conscript army, to a professional army with a voluntary reserve; the accelerated and incomplete process of functional professionalization; and the successful integration into NATO, followed by rather irresponsible abandonment of the commitments given to the Alliance with regard to financial investments and capability building. Key words development path, accession, integration, full membership, transition, transformation.