NATO

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

Transcript: NATO Beyond Afghanistan Conference – Third Panel

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

Transcript: NATO Beyond Afghanistan Conference – Third Panel

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

Transcript: NATO Beyond Afghanistan Conference – Third Panel

Dispatches
Jan 21, 2026

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

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

Defense Industry
Defense Policy

Transcript: NATO Beyond Afghanistan Conference – Third Panel

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

Transcript: NATO Beyond Afghanistan Conference – Third Panel

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

Transcript: NATO Beyond Afghanistan Conference – Third Panel

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
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


Public Event
Thu, December 4, 2025 • 2:00 pm ET

General Aurelio Colagrande on preparing NATO for the challenges of tomorrow

The deputy supreme allied commander transformation talks about shaping the Alliance’s future through foresight and innovation.

Defense Policy
National Security
NATO
United States and Canada


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

Transcript

Sep 27, 2010

Transcript: NATO Beyond Afghanistan Conference – Third Panel

Transcript of the third panel from the NATO Beyond Afghanistan conference held September 27, 2010.

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Sep 27, 2010

Yanukovych in Wonderland

By Alexander Motyl

The policy and business elites who attended the Atlantic Council’s September 24th luncheon in New York with Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych may be wondering just what he meant by what he said—and, more important, by what he did not say.

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Sep 17, 2010

Second Annual Members’ Conference – The Future of NATO: What will it take to save the Alliance?

Summary of the breakout conversation “The Future of NATO: What will it take to save the Alliance?” at the 2010 Annual Members’ Conference. Participants: Kori Schake, Former Director for Defense Strategy and Requirements, National Security Council Harlan Ullman, Founder, Kiloween Group; Senior Advisor, Atlantic Council Kurt Volker, Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO; Senior Advisor, Atlantic […]

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Sep 16, 2010

Brussels Workshop on Protecting the Global Commons

On September 19 the Atlantic Council in partnership with Allied Command Transformation and the Security and Defence Agenda (SDA) gathered experts and NATO, EU, and national representatives for a workshop on NATO’s Role in the Global Commons.

European Union International Organizations

NATOSource

Sep 15, 2010

Secretary General reveals key challenges to new Strategic Concept

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO:  I am just about to complete my draft of the Strategic Concept. I will send it to nations, this month, and there will be on October 14th, what we call a “Jumbo” meeting of all the NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers, here in this building, to give their views on […]

Cybersecurity NATO

NATOSource

Sep 10, 2010

Alliance Chief: ” this isn’t your daddy’s NATO anymore”

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO

From Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO:  At the upcoming NATO Summit in November, we’re going to adopt a new Strategic Concept. The strategic concept will set the direction of the Alliance for the next ten years or so. And I think, the comprehensive approach and the partnerships will have a prominent place in this document – […]

NATO Security & Defense

NATOSource

Sep 8, 2010

NATO: A Fat, Bloated, Job Creation Project?

By James Joyner, the New Atlanticist

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  Lost amidst the welcome news of British-French cooperation on military cost-sharing in some tough talk from their ministers of defense on NATO. Last week, I noted that the FT‘s superb reporter Ben Hall buried the lead, waiting until the 13th paragraph of a story to pass along Liam Fox‘s pronouncement […]

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Aug 31, 2010

Crafting a Transformation Agenda: ACT after JFCOM

On August 31 the Atlantic Council hosted Major General Mark Barrett, USAF, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Policy at Allied Command Transformation (ACT), for a Strategic Advisors Group strategy session.

NATO Security & Defense

Event Recap

Jul 21, 2010

Global Commons Workshop in Partnership with Allied Command Transformation

On July 21, the Atlantic Council Program on International Security hosted a workshop in partnership with Allied Command Transformation, the first in a series of conferences examining the importance of the maritime, space and cyber components of international security, collectively termed the global commons. 

NATO Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Jun 7, 2010

Operationalizing the Comprehensive Approach

By Julian Lindley-French

Julian Lindley-French, member of the Strategic Advisors Group (SAG), writes in the latest SAG Issue Brief about the need for the Strategic Concept to correctly address the issue of the Comprehensive Approach, or political-military cooperation. Download the PDF

NATO Security & Defense
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Experts

Fellow

Anca Agachi

Nonresident Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Africa Conflict

Staff

Nika Aleksejeva

Resident Fellow, Baltics

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Belarus Disinformation

Millennium fellow

Kirk Allen

Digital Communications Lead, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

Millennium Leadership Program

Middle East NATO Partnerships

Fellow

Lukas Andriukaitis

Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Disinformation Eastern Europe

Fellow

Ryan Arick

Nonresident Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

NATO Security & Defense

Fellow

Lisa Aronsson

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia NATO
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Events

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

Belgium’s defense minister on the future of transatlantic security relations
Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia NATO Politics & Diplomacy