Eastbound and down: The United States, NATO enlargement, and suppressing the Soviet and Western European alternatives, 1990–1992

JSS study: US backing for NATO enlargement began earlier than previously thought, under George H.W. Bush (1989–93). "Bush administration favored enlargement for fundamentally realpolitik reasons, viewing it as a way of sustaining U.S. preeminence and suppressing challengers in post-Cold War Europe."

User smurfyjenkins, in the International Relations subreddit, 01 Apr 2020