> NATO has expanded because all those countries wanted to join. Joining NATO is not like taking a membership card at one's local gym when one feels like it. If

> NATO has expanded because all those countries wanted to join. Joining NATO is not like taking a membership card at one's local gym when one feels like it. If, say, Sierra Leone "wanted to join" it's unlikely it would happen. NATO is a military alliance. It has a purpose, it has a governance and it doesn't just randomly expand to whichever country feels like joining. It's understandable that analysts analyze the expansion of NATO in a broader context. It would be naive not to.