NATO

From June 24 to 25, heads of state and government gathered at the NATO Summit in The Hague, where they agreed on a new commitment to spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2035. 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

FEATURED EVENTS

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.

Content

NATOSource

May 22, 2013

NATO Deactivates Allied Air Command Izmir HQ in Turkey

By Kimberly Rhoades, Allied Air Command

NATO Security & Defense
German Air Force Chief Karl Muellner

Event Recap

May 14, 2013

Strategy Session on Transatlantic Defense with German Air Force Chief of Staff

On May 15, the Atlantic Council hosted Lieutenant General Karl Müllner, Germany’s Air Force chief of staff, for a strategy session about pertinent issues in transatlantic and German defense in an era of budget austerity and emerging security challenges.

Germany NATO

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2013

France’s White Book: Both Good and the Bad for the US and NATO

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

France’s new White Book on defense and national security offers no radical thinking on the future posture and structure of France’s military and national security establishment, maintaining previous strategic ambitions and positions even in the face of a faltering economy. This is both good news and bad news for Washington and other major French allies. […]

Cybersecurity France

NATOSource

May 8, 2013

Examples of NATO’s accomplishments in recent years

By James Stavridis, Allied Command Operations

From James Stavridis, Allied Command Operations:  A few of the accomplishments of this great Alliance while I was lucky enough to be on the team

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

May 7, 2013

Armenia-NATO Relations: Challenges and Prospects

On May 7, 2013, the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record roundtable discussion with senior experts on NATO and the South Caucasus. The event was organized jointly with Policy Forum Armenia, a virtual think tank with interest in Armenia’s development and national security.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 2, 2013

NATO’s Rasmussen Urges Striking New Transatlantic Deal

By James Joyner

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared Europe and North America “need to strike a new transatlantic deal” based on “people, science, and culture” in order to “make our community of values stronger, wider, and deeper.”

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Apr 25, 2013

Video Conference with NATO’s James Appathurai

On April 25, the Atlantic Council held an off-the-record video conference with James Appathurai, NATO deputy assistant secretary general for political affairs and security policy (PASP) and the secretary general’s special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, on NATO’s major priorities in the aftermath of the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting, which took place in […]

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Apr 24, 2013

Transform NATO into a defense community within the EU

By Dmitri Trenin, New York Times

From Dmitri Trenin, New York Times:  If the Atlantic alliance were disbanded, European defense policies could be renationalized

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2013

Ritual NATO Skepticism

By Stephen M. Saideman

The funny thing about writing a book on NATO and Afghanistan that is pretty critical of the alliance’s performance is that I still end up being a NATO defender.  How so?

NATO NATO Partnerships
Major General Charles Gurganus

Event Recap

Apr 17, 2013

General Gurganus: There’s Still More to Do in Afghanistan

With ISAF’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 fast approaching, it is useful to look back and see what failures and successes there have been. Have certain challenges been overcome? How do the Afghans see ISAF’s mission? On April 17, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted Major General Charles Gurganus, commanding general, […]

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

Experts