When Finland and Sweden announced their interest in joining NATO, the two Nordic states were expected to be swiftly accepted as members of the defense alliance. But joining NATO requires consensus approval from all existing members, and Turkey – one of the group's most strategically important and militarily powerful members – is not happy.
The reasons why are complicated, emotional and steeped in decades of often violent history.
Historic decision
Nonaligned up until now, Finland and Sweden last weekend announced plans to abandon that position and join NATO in the wake of Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine.
Official partners of the alliance since the 1990s, the idea that the Nordic states might actually join the group made Moscow bristle. NATO expansion is something it has previously cited to justify invading Ukraine, also a NATO partner.
Now, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has the power to determine the future of the NATO alliance — and its power and size in the face of Russia's war.
In fact, Erdogan has already...
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