LOOK BACK ON THE WASHINGTON SUMMIT


Atlantic Council at the NATO Summit in Washington

Live commentary, authoritative analysis, and high-level events covering NATO’s Washington summit, courtesy of our experts.

Essays on the Alliance’s future

NATO’s seventy-fifth anniversary is a milestone in a remarkable story of reinvention, adaptation, and unity. However, as the Alliance seeks to secure its future for the next seventy-five years, it faces revanchist old rivals, escalating strategic competition, and uncertainties over the future of the rules-based international order. 

With partners and allies turning attention from celebrations to challenges, the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative invited contributors to engage with the most pressing concerns ahead of the historic Washington summit and chart a path for the Alliance’s future. This series features seven essays focused on concrete issues that NATO must address at the Washington summit and five essays that examine longer-term challenges the Alliance must confront to ensure transatlantic security. 

Related program

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.

Content

New Atlanticist

Jul 6, 2018

NATO: The United States’ alliance

By Magnus Nordenman

NATO is not about the United States doing Europe favors. It is an alliance created by the United States, and which has proven remarkably effective in transforming to, in great part, advancing American national security objectives.

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jul 6, 2018

Withdrawal of US Troops from Germany is Not Being Discussed, US Ambassador to NATO Says

By Washington Post and Defense One

From Washington Post: The Trump administration’s ambassador to NATO said Thursday that no discussions are underway regarding withdrawal of U.S. troops in Germany

Germany NATO

New Atlanticist

Jul 6, 2018

The Modern Alliance: Thirty Years of NATO Operations

By David Wemer

Since the election of US president Donald J. Trump, much attention has been focused on the defense spending of European NATO members and whether the Alliance has been “too costly for the United States,” as claimed by Trump. Long-standing burden-sharing concerns have morphed into larger disagreements on the value the United States gets from being […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 6, 2018

Six Facts You Should Know About NATO

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The heads of state and government of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations will meet in Brussels on July 11 and 12. US President Donald J. Trump will be among those present. Here are six facts you should know about the Alliance that has been credited with maintaining peace in Europe for the past […]

NATO Security & Defense

In the News

Jul 6, 2018

Nordenman Quoted in McClatchy DC on Trump at the NATO Summit

By Magnus Nordenman

Read the full article here.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 6, 2018

Complementarity Without Competition: How NATO Can Benefit from Stronger European Defense Cooperation

By Ulrik Trolle Smed

Despite the current political tension in the transatlantic bond, the facts on the ground for NATO’s summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12 could not be better. After years of calls from the United States for more defense investment, NATO allies have been responding ever more credibly to meet the rising threats in the […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jul 6, 2018

NATO Needs More Unmanned Aerial Systems

By Nicola Johnson and Jessie Ilkson

NATO faces an array of security threats from the Arctic in the north, Russia in the east, and migrant flows from the south, all of which demand a dynamic and flexible defense force. Although members of the Alliance have increased investment in defense, their focus has been on expensive technology for a potential high-end conflict. […]

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Jul 6, 2018

In Montana, Trump Says ‘Putin is Fine’ and Sticks by Threats to NATO

By Todd Gillman, Dallas Morning News

Ahead of summits with NATO and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump used a Montana campaign rally on Thursday to rail against Germany

Germany NATO

New Atlanticist

Jul 5, 2018

Here’s why the United States needs NATO

By David Wemer

US President Donald J. Trump sent ripples through the transatlantic community after sending letters to NATO allies demanding that they spend more on their own defense. Trump’s stance appears to stem from the belief—shared by many in the United States—that European allies have long taken advantage of American military protection without making a fair contribution […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 5, 2018

NATO Should Invite Macedonia to Join the Alliance

By Sarah Bedenbaugh and Daniel Fried

On June 12, the prime ministers of Greece and Macedonia announced a historic agreement to settle a decades-long quarrel over Macedonia’s name. Leaders from around the world praised the Balkan neighbors for putting aside nationalist disputes. The deal is not yet done, however. Opposition to the agreement is strong in both countries. If the new […]

Greece NATO

Experts

Events