冷战结束后，国际政治格局发生了巨大的变化，作为冷战的产物，北约存在的合法性受到了质疑。在这种情况下，以美国为首的北约选择了东扩，希望通过东扩来完成自身职能的转化，同时也使北约找到在后冷战时期继续存在的理由。然而，北约东扩并不顺利，由于各自国家利益的作用，美国及其欧洲盟国之间产生了许多争论，同时二者之间也存在着大量的合作。这些争论和合作对北约东扩战略的出台和实施起到了非常重要的作用。纵观北约东扩进程，从东扩目标提出时开始，到马德里峰会为止，美国出于冷战后全球战略的考虑，积极主张北约东扩；德国为了维护冷战后的国家安全，也需要将中东欧国家纳入西方阵营，但德国开始时是希望通过欧盟东扩的方式来达到目的，只是在欧盟东扩遭遇困难而停顿之后，它才选择北约东扩；而法国出于维护自身在欧洲大国地位的需要，加上历史的原因，一开始就对北约东扩表示反对。虽然法国认为北约在冷战后的地位和作用应该下降，欧洲的事务应该由欧洲人自己来解决，但由于欧洲在冷战后仍然需要北约的安全保护，因此即使法国用各种办法对美国进行反对，最终还是没能阻止美国按照自己的意愿行事。这实际上证明了，冷战结束之后，美国在北约内部仍然是一家坐大，其主导地位无法撼动；法国等国的实力，还不足以扭转美国冷战后继续在安全问题上领导欧洲的现实。但与此同时，美国也不得不对法国等欧洲盟国的意见进行认真考虑，避免做出令法国等欧洲盟国无法接受的决定。这表明，美国对欧洲的控制力度已经有所降低，美国在冷战后也已经离不开欧洲的合作。因此，在北约东扩过程中，美欧关系呈现出的是“争论＋合作”范式，在未来相当长时间内，这种范式将继续存在下去。{{END END }}<WP=3>ABSTRACTThe end of the cold war caused the international political structure to have a great change. NATO, the effective instrument of the cold war, began to face the new challenge and its validity of existence had been suspected. Under such circumstances, NATO, in which the United States took the leading role during the cold war period, was apt to expand eastward, hoping to fulfill the task of changing its function from a military political organization to a political military organization, and to seek out the reason to continue existing in the Europe after the cold war. However, the enlargement of NATO was not as smooth as one had expected. The United States and its European allies had debates and co operations as well on the enlargement. In fact, these debates and co operations on NATO enlargement really took very important role in the plan and the implementation of the enlargement strategy.During the process of the NATO expansion, from the time when the enlargement was put forward to Madrid Summit, the United States, concerning the global strategy after the cold war, positively advocated NATO enlargement, in order to sustain its national security in the post cold war era. Germany, as the nearest country to the former Warsaw Pact countries in NATO, hoped that East Central European countries could join the Western camp. At the beginning, Germany wished to achieve the goal through the European Union enlargement. Only when Germany suffered great difficulties in expanding European Union, did it turn its attention to NATO enlargement. On account of maintaining the status of the European great country and some historical reasons, France considered that the status and the role of NATO should decrease. So from the very beginning, France employed various ways to oppose NATO enlargement. However, France could not hold up the process of NATO enlargement, which was under US control, for the reason that European security still needed NATO military protection. All the facts proved that the United States still acted as the leading part in Europe;<WP=4>France and any other European countries could not reverse the fact that United States would continue to lead the Europe after the cold war. But simultaneously, the United States had to make careful balance on the opinions of its European allies to avoid making any decision that they (especially France) could not accept. Too some extent America’s control over Europe has decreased since the end of cold war, and America could not exist in Europe successfully without European co operation. Therefore, during the process of NATO enlargement, US Europe relations take on the mode of