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

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2012

NATO and the Transatlantic Bargain

By Franklin Kramer

The United States’ recent defense strategy emphasizes a “strategic turning point” and a “broader range of challenges and opportunities.” The NATO Summit, which will be held in Chicago May 20 and 21, will offer the transatlantic countries a first opportunity to respond and two key elements will be “pivoting”—expanding the focus on the larger world […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 10, 2012

Saving NATO

By Franklin Kramer and Jordan Becker

As the United States engages in a “strategic pivot” toward the Asia-Pacific region—and as defense budgets tighten on both sides of the Atlantic—the debate on burden sharing within NATO has once again been rekindled. Last summer, outgoing secretary of defense Robert Gates, a staunch Atlanticist, chided European allies publicly over the issue, warning of “dire” […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 9, 2012

Cyber Security and the Need for New Approaches

By Franklin Kramer

Cyber as a critical facilitator of the global world is well recognized and the concomitant importance of a safe and secure cyber system is equally understood. But the continued and highly successful attacks on cyber systems in recent years have undercut any sense of real security.  Just to state a few: the US Department of Defense […]

Cybersecurity NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 27, 2012

Why We Need a Smart NATO

By Julian Lindley-French

There is some contention as to who actually said it – Winston Churchill, Admiral Lord Fisher, or Ernest Rutherford but in any case some Brit once said, “Gentlemen, we have run out of money. Now is the time to think.”

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2012

Afghanistan Victory Not in Sight

By James Joyner

In a speech to the Atlantic Council this week, Major General John Toolan, just returned from a year commanding NATO forces in southwestern Afghanistan, both highlighted the tremendous progress coalition forces have made since the beginning of the Afghan surge and candidly acknowledged how much work remains to be done.

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 23, 2012

Slovakia Can Help with Transition to Democracy

By Jason Harmala

When Damon Wilson, US security expert and executive vice president of the Atlantic Council, visited Bratislava in 2005, he was working to prepare the Bush-Putin summit that the Slovak capital hosted that year. Seven years on Wilson returned to discuss security challenges at the Bratislava Global Security Forum held in mid April. 

Central Europe NATO

Commanders Series

Apr 23, 2012

Fighting and Rebuilding in Helmand and Nimruz Provinces Revisited: A Commander’s View

By Jason Harmala

The commander of International Security Assistance Force, Regional Command Southwest (RC-SW), Major General John A. Toolan Jr., joined the Atlantic Council on April 23 for a conversation moderated by Barry Pavel, director of the Council’s Program on International Security.

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

New Atlanticist

Apr 20, 2012

The Comprehensive Approach: Groundhog Day?

By Julian Lindley-French

For the past few days I have been acting as rapporteur for a large conference on enhancing and improving civil-military interaction in crises – the so-called Comprehensive Approach. The fifty heavy pages of notes I have before me testify to the intense nature of the debate and the challenge of writing the conference report. Over […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 18, 2012

The Kabul Blame Game

By Derek Reveron

Last weekend’s attacks in Afghanistan demonstrates that the Haqqani Network remains committed to conducting attacks, Afghan security forces are effective, and blame game politics are alive and well. Consider President Karzai’s statement: “The fact terrorists were able to enter Kabul and other provinces was an intelligence failure for us and especially for NATO.” In retort, […]

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 18, 2012

Memo to NATO: Stay Out of Syrian Conflict

By Joshua Foust

Despite this weekend’s unanimous UN Security Council vote, which authorized a team of observers to Syria to monitor the tentative ceasefire there, there remain many questions about what can actually be done to stop the fighting. Conventional wisdom, prior to Saturday, seemed to resign the international community to doing very little about the bloodshed, thanks to […]

NATO Security & Defense

Experts