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

NATOSource

Jul 5, 2018

Ex-NATO Commander: Trump’s Disdain for US-Led Alliance Leads to ‘New and Dangerous’ Situation

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

Growing doubt about President Donald Trump’s commitment to the U.S.-led NATO alliance

NATO Russia
President Donald Trump, February 10, 2011 (photo: Gage Skidmore)

NATOSource

Jul 5, 2018

Trump Tells NATO Allies to Pay More for Defense, Raising Tensions Ahead of Summit

By David Jackson, USA Today

President Trump is telling NATO allies they must pick up more of the costs for defense of the alliance, ratcheting up tensions

NATO Northern Europe
Congressman Rick Larsen (photo: Rick Larsen)

NATOSource

Jul 4, 2018

Congressman Criticizes ‘Needlessly Provocative’ Trump Letter to Norway

By Rick Larsen, Office of Congressman Rick Larsen

Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), the Co-Chair of the Friends of Norway Caucus and a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee sent a letter to President Trump

NATO Northern Europe
UK Defense Minister Gavin Williamson & Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, November 20, 2017 (photo: Sgt. Jette Carr/Department of Defense)

NATOSource

Jul 4, 2018

Mattis Letter Warns that British Defense Capabilities are at Risk

By Reuters

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis threatened to replace Britain with France as its main military ally unless London ramps up its defense spending,

France NATO
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, June 28, 2017 (photo: Sgt. Jette Carr/Department of Defense)

NATOSource

Jul 4, 2018

German Defense Minister Stands Ground Against Trump on National Defense Spending

By Tobias Buck, Financial Times

Germany’s defence minister has dismissed US accusations that her country is not spending enough on its military,

Germany NATO

New Atlanticist

Jul 4, 2018

Six Ways NATO Can Address the Russian Challenge

By Dominik Jankowski

Anti-Access/Area-Denial capabilities (A2/AD)—the ability to prevent an adversary from entering an area of land, sea, or air—have become a major component of military force postures for powers around the globe, but Russia is the most committed to advancing their development. Russian A2/AD capabilities are shaping NATO’s neighborhood and the Alliance needs a comprehensive strategy to […]

NATO Russia

NATOSource

Jul 4, 2018

A US Ambassador Resigned over Trump’s Attacks on European Allies

By Washington Post and Foreign Policy

From the Washington Post: The U.S. ambassador to Estonia — a NATO ally bordering Russia — abruptly resigned Friday, telling friends that he cannot abide President Trump’s apparent hostility toward institutions that have stabilized Europe

NATO Northern Europe

New Atlanticist

Jul 3, 2018

Defining Success at NATO’s Summit: Political Unity and Military Readiness

By Ian Brzezinski

NATO’s July 11-12 summit in Brussels will be defined by two basic objectives: demonstrating political unity and resolve and advancing military readiness. The latter provides the means necessary to deter and defeat adversaries. Only with the former can this community of democracies fully leverage those capabilities. Both are critical to the effectiveness and long-viability of […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jul 3, 2018

NATO Must Meet Russia’s Hybrid Warfare Challenge

By Rihards Kols

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s use of military force and hybrid warfare tactics in his country’s immediate neighborhood and beyond has brought into question NATO’s ability to defend its eastern border. Russian hybrid warfare, with an increased focus on asymmetric and nontraditional military capabilities, has made it considerably more difficult for NATO to counter destabilization efforts, […]

NATO Security & Defense
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Canadan Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, June 9, 2018.(photo: Norwegian Embassy in Ottowa)

NATOSource

Jul 3, 2018

Trump Sends ‘Threatening’ Letter to Norway and Tells Trudeau that Canada is Undermining NATO

By News in English, Reuters, and CTV News

From News in English: US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in which he asks Norway once again to boost defense spending

NATO Northern Europe

Experts

Events