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

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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

Dec 9, 2011

US-Pakistan Relations: A Crisis Foretold

By Maleeha Lodhi

The firestorm in Pakistan-US relations set off by the November 26 NATO assault on Pakistan’s border posts was a crisis waiting to happen.

NATO Pakistan

Event Recap

Dec 7, 2011

Transforming Toward a Smarter Alliance: NATO Reform in the Age of Austerity

By Jason Harmala

On December 7, the Atlantic Council hosted a conference on NATO’s continued reforms and transformation in the age of austerity. This conference took stock of the progress to date on NATO’s reform efforts first established at the NATO Summit in Lisbon. The conference also provided recommendations and possible ways ahead for further reforms in order […]

NATO Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Dec 7, 2011

NATO Agency Reform, Done Right

By Marshall Billingslea and Gary Winterberger

Marshall Billingslea, director with Deloitte Consulting, LPP and member of the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Advisors Group, and Major General Gary Winterberger, USAF (Ret.), former commander of the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control (NAEW&C) Force Command and consultant with the NATO team at IBM, authored an issue brief on NATO reform. Download the PDF

NATO Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Dec 7, 2011

NATO Reform: Key Principles

By Kurt Volker and Kevin P. Green

Ambassador Kurt Volker, senior advisor to the International Security Program and member of the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Advisors Group, and Vice Admiral Kevin P. Green, USN (Ret.), vice president for defense and intelligence for IBM Federal, outlined several key principles for NATO reform in a new issue brief. Download the PDF

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Nov 23, 2011

Russia’s Red Alert

By James Joyner

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev announced today that he would “immediately put the missile attack early warning radar station in Kaliningrad on combat alert” and take other aggressive steps to counter NATO’s missile defense system. In an official statement reprinted on NATOSource, Medvedev claims this step was taken after NATO and the United States rebuffed repeated gestures from […]

Missile Defense NATO

New Atlanticist

Nov 23, 2011

Russian Stereotypes: A Flawed Analysis Resulting in Inadequate Policy Choices

By Isabelle Francois and Brett Swaney

The relationship between Russia and NATO is in dire need of radical rethinking.  In the past two decades, the evolving security environment has provided opportunities for NATO and Russia to establish new levels of cooperation but diverging perceptions continue to cause the relationship to stagnate.  For the better part of the last decade, Western analysts […]

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2011

Will NATO Intervene In Syria?

By James Joyner

Among the explanations given for why the West intervened in Libya but has thus far stayed out of the far greater crisis in Syria has been the lack of regional support for action. That excuse appears to be nearing its expiration date.

International Organizations NATO

New Atlanticist

Nov 9, 2011

NATO’s New Math: 600, 2012, and 0

By Harlan Ullman

Next May, NATO will have its biannual heads of government summit in Chicago. Few Americans are interested in or know much about NATO these days. Fewer are aware of this forthcoming summit and the crucial challenges facing the alliance and threatening its cohesion. The numbers in the headline — 600, 2012 and 0 — reflect […]

International Organizations NATO

New Atlanticist

Nov 7, 2011

NATO ‘No Planning, No Discussion, No Thought’ of Syria Intervention

By James Joyner

NATO has had  “no planning, no discussion, and no thought” of action in Syria, declared Ivo Daalder, the US permanent representation to NATO. In a speech to the Atlantic Council on the eve of a meeting with President Obama and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Daalder focused on the successes and lessons learned from the operation […]

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Nov 4, 2011

An Irreplaceable Alliance: The Impact of the Libya Mission on NATO

By James Joyner

On Monday, November 7, the Atlantic Council hosted a discussion with the US Ambassador to NATO, Ivo H. Daalder.

Libya NATO

Experts