NATO

NATO

From July 7 to 8, heads of state and government will gather at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, where allies will seek to capitalize on the success of last year’s landmark defense spending pledge and begin converting cash into capabilities. 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

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

Dispatches
Apr 20, 2026

Five ideas to make the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara a success

By
Atlantic Council experts

While the upcoming summit is unlikely to produce anything as singularly significant as 2025’s “5 percent” pledge, there are important steps the Alliance should take.

Europe & Eurasia
NATO

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

Dispatches
Apr 10, 2026

Dispatch from Vilnius: Warfare is evolving rapidly. Here’s how NATO can keep up.

By
David Julazadeh, Julia Salabert

The most important change is that the cost barrier to generating strategic effects has dropped dramatically.

Defense Industry
Europe & Eurasia

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

Dispatches
Jan 21, 2026

To adapt to today’s security threats, NATO should prioritize the basics of defense innovation

By
Julia Salabert, Kristen Taylor

Transatlantic allies must focus on accelerating defense innovation while strengthening their defense industrial bases.

Defense Industry
Defense Policy

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

New Atlanticist
Jun 27, 2025

Four fundamental questions the NATO Summit did not answer

By
Torrey Taussig

Over the coming months, NATO allies will have to wrestle with questions about the US commitment to Europe, their shared approach to China, and more.

Conflict
Defense Industry

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

Inflection Points
Jun 26, 2025

Dispatch from The Hague: It’s been Trump’s week in Europe and Iran

By
Frederick Kempe

What connects the recent events in Iran and at the NATO Summit is that they won’t be remembered for the threats countered but rather for the opportunities seized.

Europe & Eurasia
Iran

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

Fast Thinking
Jun 25, 2025

Trump warmed to NATO at The Hague. But what about Ukraine?

By
Atlantic Council

Allies reiterated their commitment to collective defense. But absent from the communiqué was any mention of how Russia’s war against Ukraine should end.

Europe & Eurasia
NATO

FEATURED EVENTS

Public Event
Tue, April 28, 2026 • 10:15 am ET

Belgium’s defense minister on the future of transatlantic security relations

Minister of Defense of Belgium Theo Francken shares his views on transatlantic security developments and Belgium’s role in Europe’s growing defense industry.

Defense Policy
Europe & Eurasia
NATO
Politics & Diplomacy


Public Event
Fri, April 17, 2026 • 11:45 am ET

The British ambassador to the US on Euro-Atlantic security and the Middle East

British Ambassador to the United States Sir Christian Turner joins the Atlantic Council to discuss the UK’s ongoing diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and its vision for the future of Euro-Atlantic security cooperation.

Europe & Eurasia
Iran
Middle East
NATO


Online Event
Tue, April 7, 2026 • 10:00 am ET

US-Turkish defense relations and the upcoming NATO Summit

A discussion on the new era for the bilateral US-Turkish defense relationship and the significance of the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara.

Defense Industry
Defense Policy
Europe & Eurasia
Geopolitics & Energy Security


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.

Learn more

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.

Learn more

Content

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

Event Recap

Oct 19, 2011

Strategy Session with General Abrial: The Run-Up to Chicago 2012—A Smart Defense Agenda

By Jason Harmala

On October 19, the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record strategy session with General Stéphane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. The session, entitled, “Preparing for Chicago 2012 – A Smart Defense Agenda,” focused on the individual components and overall implementation of a smart defense initiative for the months leading up to the May 2012 summit.

NATO Security & Defense
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Experts

Staff

Philippe Dickinson

Deputy Director

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Chinese East Asia

Board director

Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky

Vice Chair, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Latin America China

Fellow

Arnold C. Dupuy

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Atlantic Council Turkey Program

Turkey Energy & Environment

Fellow

David F. Helvey

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Industry Europe & Eurasia

Fellow

Cori Fleser

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Americas Defense Policy

Staff

Denise Forsthuber

Deputy Director, Strategic Engagement and Operations

Europe Center Transform Europe Initiative

Central Europe Eastern Europe
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Events

Public Event Wed, June 17, 2026 • 3:30 pm ET

Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis on the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara

AN AC FRONT PAGE EVENT—The Atlantic Council is hosting Senators Shaheen and Tillis for a conversation on the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara.
Europe & Eurasia NATO Security & Defense