Expectations were high for the NATO summit in Bucharest in April 2008. The summit, hosted by one of NATO`s newest members, Romania, became the biggest in the history of the alliance. It also was symbolic for the current state NATO is in, and the various challenges it faces in its continuing transformation from the West`s main Cold War alliance to a modern defence organisation in the 21st century. In this context the Konrad Adenauer Foundation intends to focus with this issue of “Political Thought” on the aftermath of the summit and its consequences for individual countries.