Ankara Summit Content Series

These articles are part of a series featuring Atlantic Council experts’ analysis and recommendations on the key challenges facing allies at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, and beyond.

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

FEATURED EVENTS

TUNE IN

ARCHIVES: THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL ON THE ROAD TO THE NATO SUMMIT

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.

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.

Content

In the News

Aug 2, 2016

Sloan in Atlantisch Perspectief: Rearranging Deckchairs on the Titanic? NATO’s Warsaw Summit

By Stanley Sloan

Read the full article here.

NATO Security & Defense
Donald Trump, Jan. 9, 2016 (photo: Evan Guest)

NATOSource

Aug 1, 2016

The Logic Behind Our Alliances

By Charles Lane, Washington Post

Perhaps it would help, given recent events in U.S. politics, to review the rationale for U.S. security commitments to allies in Europe and the Far East.

NATO Russia
Donald Trump, Dec. 16, 2015 (photo: Gage Skidmore)

NATOSource

Aug 1, 2016

Mr. Trump, NATO is an Alliance, Not a Protection Racket

By Michael McFaul, Washington Post

The United States’ greatest “return on investment” from our alliances does not come from increases in their military spending.

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2016

NATO’s Trump Card

By Fabrice Pothier

As strange as it seems, both US President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump seem to agree on one thing: European allies don’t spend enough on defense and they need to seriously step up. How they both frame this message is where Obama the statesman and Trump the salesman differ. Since Russia’s annexation […]

Elections European Union
Donald Trump, Feb. 10, 2011 (photo: Gage Skidmore)

NATOSource

Jul 29, 2016

Trump Casually Undermines the World’s Most Important Alliance

By The Economist

On July 20th Donald Trump declared that should the Baltic states be attacked by Russia when he is president, he would come to their aid only if he felt they had met their “obligations”.

NATO Security & Defense
Donald Trump, June 18, 2016 (photo: Gage Skidmore)

NATOSource

Jul 28, 2016

Trump’s NATO Policy and Views on Cyber Weapons

By Donald J. Trump, David E. Sanger, and Maggie Haberman

Excerpts from edited transcript of interview of Donald J. Trump by David E. Sanger and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times

Cybersecurity NATO

In the News

Jul 28, 2016

Nordenman in Aviation Week: Why Trump Is Wrong On NATO

By Magnus Nordenman

Read the full article here.

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Jul 26, 2016

NATO Air Power in a Contested Air Domain

By Marija Vaicekauskaite & Lauren Speranza

On July 26, 2016 the Atlantic Council hosted a private roundtable on “NATO Air Power in a Contested Air Domain.” The session featured a keynote address by General Frank Gorenc, Commander of US Air Forces in Europe and Africa, and a moderated discussion led by Jorge Benitez, director of NATOSource and senior fellow in the […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO

In the News

Jul 25, 2016

Ullman in Epic Times: NATO: 21st Century Relevance Or 20th Century Relic

By Harlan Ullman

Read the full article here.

NATO Security & Defense

In the News

Jul 24, 2016

Stein Quoted by Financial Times on the Reaction of Allies to Turkey’s Purges

By Aaron Stein

Read the full article here.

NATO Security & Defense

Experts