The Iranian Association of International Studies International Relations Researches 2251-8444 13 4 2024 02 20 NATO Expansion to the East: Military and Security Cooperation of NATO Members with neighbors China and Russia (2013-2023) NATO Expansion to the East: Military and Security Cooperation of NATO Members with neighbors China and Russia (2013-2023) 143 173 195843 10.22034/irr.2024.444222.2510 FA Miad Sadeghi PhD Candidate of International Relations, Kish International Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kish Island, Iran Garineh Keshishyan Siraki Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran (corresponding author) 0000-0001-8645-7295 Mohammadreza Ghaedi Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran 0000-0002-7303-5314 Journal Article 2024 02 16 One of the most important strategies of NATO for territorialization in the geopolitical areas adjacent to Russia and China is the expansion of the official political borders of this organization. NATO, which was formed with the primary purpose of securing the security of the North Atlantic geographic region, acknowledges in its new security concept that the security of this region will be ensured when the geographical boundaries of this organization give way to identity boundaries. This is important because both China and Russia have expressed their opposition to the unipolar system. In this regard, NATO focuses its interests on the need to tighten the encirclement ring surrounding the support and strengthening of Russia through alliances with neighboring countries and the need to support and strengthen forces against NATO's next goals, confronting Islamic fundamentalism and curbing China has put Russia's concern about the presence of NATO in its borders and China's concern about the close military cooperation of the West with Taiwan and other strategic points have caused the two countries to work harder for mutual cooperation and their development fields. In this article, this issue was investigated using the analytical descriptive method and using the theoretical framework of Stephen Walt's balance of threats. The findings indicate that the military and security cooperation of NATO members with their neighbors China and Russia is in line with the balance of threats. can be evaluated and has caused the expansion of the military and security cooperation of these two countries against NATO. One of the most important strategies of NATO for territorialization in the geopolitical areas adjacent to Russia and China is the expansion of the official political borders of this organization. NATO, which was formed with the primary purpose of securing the security of the North Atlantic geographic region, acknowledges in its new security concept that the security of this region will be ensured when the geographical boundaries of this organization give way to identity boundaries. This is important because both China and Russia have expressed their opposition to the unipolar system. In this regard, NATO focuses its interests on the need to tighten the encirclement ring surrounding the support and strengthening of Russia through alliances with neighboring countries and the need to support and strengthen forces against NATO's next goals, confronting Islamic fundamentalism and curbing China has put Russia's concern about the presence of NATO in its borders and China's concern about the close military cooperation of the West with Taiwan and other strategic points have caused the two countries to work harder for mutual cooperation and their development fields. In this article, this issue was investigated using the analytical descriptive method and using the theoretical framework of Stephen Walt's balance of threats. The findings indicate that the military and security cooperation of NATO members with their neighbors China and Russia is in line with the balance of threats. can be evaluated and has caused the expansion of the military and security cooperation of these two countries against NATO. https://www.iisajournals.ir/article_195843_7b5f3c3574041dc665e040c35b63c131.pdf