NATO

NATO

From July 7 to 8, heads of state and government will gather at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, where allies will seek to capitalize on the success of last year’s landmark defense spending pledge and begin converting cash into capabilities. Check out our commentary, analysis, and events covering the convening, courtesy of our experts.

TRACKING NATO SPENDING

Trackers and Data Visualizations

Jun 20, 2025

NATO defense spending tracker

By Kristen Taylor, Julia Salabert

The Transatlantic Security Initiative’s NATO defense spending tracker delves into data and figures to analyze current defense spending trends.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

FEATURED READING

Binnendijk and Koster in Defense News: NATO needs a new core task

Dispatches Apr 20, 2026

Five ideas to make the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara a success

By Atlantic Council experts

While the upcoming summit is unlikely to produce anything as singularly significant as 2025’s “5 percent” pledge, there are important steps the Alliance should take.
Europe & Eurasia NATO
Binnendijk and Koster in Defense News: NATO needs a new core task

Dispatches Apr 10, 2026

Dispatch from Vilnius: Warfare is evolving rapidly. Here’s how NATO can keep up.

By David Julazadeh, Julia Salabert

The most important change is that the cost barrier to generating strategic effects has dropped dramatically.
Defense Industry Europe & Eurasia
Binnendijk and Koster in Defense News: NATO needs a new core task

Dispatches Jan 21, 2026

To adapt to today’s security threats, NATO should prioritize the basics of defense innovation

By Julia Salabert, Kristen Taylor

Transatlantic allies must focus on accelerating defense innovation while strengthening their defense industrial bases.
Defense Industry Defense Policy
Binnendijk and Koster in Defense News: NATO needs a new core task

New Atlanticist Jun 27, 2025

Four fundamental questions the NATO Summit did not answer

By Torrey Taussig

Over the coming months, NATO allies will have to wrestle with questions about the US commitment to Europe, their shared approach to China, and more.
Conflict Defense Industry
Binnendijk and Koster in Defense News: NATO needs a new core task

Inflection Points Jun 26, 2025

Dispatch from The Hague: It’s been Trump’s week in Europe and Iran

By Frederick Kempe

What connects the recent events in Iran and at the NATO Summit is that they won’t be remembered for the threats countered but rather for the opportunities seized.
Europe & Eurasia Iran
Binnendijk and Koster in Defense News: NATO needs a new core task

Fast Thinking Jun 25, 2025

Trump warmed to NATO at The Hague. But what about Ukraine?

By Atlantic Council

Allies reiterated their commitment to collective defense. But absent from the communiqué was any mention of how Russia’s war against Ukraine should end.
Europe & Eurasia NATO

FEATURED EVENTS

Public Event Tue, April 28, 2026 • 10:15 am ET

Belgium’s defense minister on the future of transatlantic security relations

Minister of Defense of Belgium Theo Francken shares his views on transatlantic security developments and Belgium’s role in Europe’s growing defense industry.
Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia NATO Politics & Diplomacy
Public Event Fri, April 17, 2026 • 11:45 am ET

The British ambassador to the US on Euro-Atlantic security and the Middle East

British Ambassador to the United States Sir Christian Turner joins the Atlantic Council to discuss the UK’s ongoing diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and its vision for the future of Euro-Atlantic security cooperation.
Europe & Eurasia Iran Middle East NATO
Online Event Tue, April 7, 2026 • 10:00 am ET

US-Turkish defense relations and the upcoming NATO Summit

A discussion on the new era for the bilateral US-Turkish defense relationship and the significance of the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara.
Defense Industry Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia Geopolitics & Energy Security

TUNE IN

Programs and initiatives

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.

Learn more

Within the Atlantic Council’s longstanding commitment to strengthening the transatlantic relationship, the Atlantic Council Turkey Program conducts research, provides thought leadership, and offers a platform for strategic dialogue between the US, Turkey, and NATO allies to address the region’s toughest challenges and explore opportunities, including in the fields of energy, business & trade, technology, defense, and security.

Learn more

Content

In the News

Jul 22, 2020

Binnendijk and Koster in Defense News: NATO needs a new core task

By Hans Binnendijk, Timo S. Koster

Hans Binnendijk and Ambassador Timo S. Koster write that NATO should adopt "conserve stability" as a fourth core task with a global focus.

Americas China

In-Depth Research & Reports

Jul 16, 2020

A strategic concept for countering Russian and Chinese hybrid threats

By Lauren Speranza

Tackling hybrid threats, particularly from state actors such as Russia and China, remains one of the greatest challenges for the transatlantic community. This report offers strategic priorities and recommendations to enhance counter-hybrid capabilities against Russia and China.

China Europe & Eurasia

In the News

Jul 16, 2020

Ian Brzezinski quoted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Russian bounties on US troops
Afghanistan Conflict

In the News

Jul 14, 2020

Bryza joins Georgia’s Mtavari TV to discuss Georgia’s prospective NATO membership and its investment climate
Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

In the News

Jul 9, 2020

Ian Brzezinski quoted in Dallas Morning News on US troop withdrawal from Germany
Europe & Eurasia NATO

UkraineAlert

Jul 8, 2020

Containing the Kremlin: Why the West must rethink policy towards a revisionist Russia

By Oleksii Reznikov

After more than five years of deadlock in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, it is obvious that fresh approaches are needed in order to end the war on Europe’s eastern frontier and contain the Kremlin.

Conflict NATO Partnerships

New Atlanticist

Jul 2, 2020

What Poland wants when it comes to US troops

By Teri Schultz

It's not a place the Polish government wants to be: caught between its crucial transatlantic ally the United States and its neighbor, Europe's most powerful country, Germany.

Defense Policy Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 26, 2020

Germany may not like the American messenger. But it should heed his message.

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

The US president and the German government have given up on one another and withdrawn to their own camps, ignoring the growing structural issues in their bilateral ties that promise to linger no matter who wins the US presidential elections this fall.

Defense Policy Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 25, 2020

What’s at stake in Trump’s plans to withdraw troops from Germany

By Katherine Golden

On June 15, US President Donald J. Trump confirmed press reports that he is planning to pull 9,500 US troops out of Germany, leaving 25,000 in the country. Here’s how the Atlantic Council’s experts are assessing the decision and its significance.

Defense Policy Germany

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Jun 24, 2020

German defense minister responds to US plans for a troop drawdown

By Larry Luxner

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has warned that the US President Donald J. Trump administration's planned withdrawal of 9,500 American troops from her country—a move announced by the US president earlier this month—must not send Russia the signal “that the US is less interested in Europe.”

Germany NATO
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Experts

Fellow

Daniel Fried

Weiser Family Distinguished Fellow

Economic Statecraft Initiative Eurasia Center

Eastern Europe Democratic Transitions

Staff

Markus Garlauskas

Director

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Crisis Management Indo-Pacific

Fellow

Paul R.S. Gebhard

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Fellow

Gorana Grgić

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Croatian Democratic Transitions

Fellow

Heidi Hardt

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Transatlantic Security Initiative

Climate Change & Climate Action International Organizations

Fellow

AM Sir Christopher Harper, KBE, RAF (Ret.)

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia NATO
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Events

Public Event Wed, June 17, 2026 • 3:30 pm ET

Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis on the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara

AN AC FRONT PAGE EVENT—The Atlantic Council is hosting Senators Shaheen and Tillis for a conversation on the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara.
Europe & Eurasia NATO Security & Defense