Addressing Congress on Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg skillfully articulated why NATO is a uniquely special alliance: it matches the sovereign authority of democratic governments to mutual efforts in common interest.

Stoltenberg explained that NATO isn’t about the submission of national authority to a global construct. Rather it is an alliance of “sovereign nations united by democracy.” Here we see the divergence of NATO from other organizations such as the European Union or the International Court of Justice. Where NATO respects its member populations, other international organizations tend to subordinate democratic sovereign power to their own bureaucratic interests. Explaining that “NATO lasts because it is in the national interest of each of our nations,” Stoltenberg offered a rationale for how positive nationalism and international alliances can co-exist. Preserving a mutually beneficial peace, NATO creates space for our mutually beneficial prosperity.