November 19, 2020
Rethink and replace 2%: NATO 20/2020 podcast
NATO’s two percent metric is reductive and politically fraught but offers lessons for better ways to measure burden sharing.
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About this episode
In the very first episode of the NATO 20/2020 podcast, freelance journalist in Brussels, Teri Schultz, had a discussion with her guests Derek Chollet, Steven Keil, and Chris Skaluba, about their recommendation that NATO rethink and replace its 2% of GDP defense spending guideline.
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Key takeaways
You will discover what this metric is, reasons to rethink and replace it, and how it’s measured, all in this episode. This is a must watch for NATO nerds and those who know nothing about 2% alike. In this episode, we learn:
- The background on the 2% pledge that was made at the Wales NATO Summit of 2014, where countries pledged to someday spend 2% of their GDP on their own militaries.
- Why it’s time to drop the 2%, why it hasn’t worked, its shortcomings, and our suggested way forward.
- Reasons why countries spending 2% of their GDP on militaries was an imperfect metric to use and what responsible Alliance partnership looks like.
- How the US measures its defense spending versus how other countries do this based on what each needs to defend.
- Why the 2% is measurement by inputs, as well as recommendations to measure by inputs and outputs.
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The Transatlantic Security Initiative, in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, shapes and influences the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners.
Image: US President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the London Leaders’ Meeting in December 2019. (Source: White House Flickr)