LOOK BACK ON THE WASHINGTON SUMMIT

Atlantic Council at the NATO Summit in Washington

Live commentary, authoritative analysis, and high-level events covering NATO’s Washington summit, courtesy of our experts.

Essays on the Alliance’s future

NATO’s seventy-fifth anniversary is a milestone in a remarkable story of reinvention, adaptation, and unity. However, as the Alliance seeks to secure its future for the next seventy-five years, it faces revanchist old rivals, escalating strategic competition, and uncertainties over the future of the rules-based international order. 

With partners and allies turning attention from celebrations to challenges, the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative invited contributors to engage with the most pressing concerns ahead of the historic Washington summit and chart a path for the Alliance’s future. This series features seven essays focused on concrete issues that NATO must address at the Washington summit and five essays that examine longer-term challenges the Alliance must confront to ensure transatlantic security. 

Related program

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

In the News

Feb 26, 2025

Kroenig interviewed on BBC World Service on the emerging Trump 2.0 foreign policy doctrine  

On February 23, Matthew Kroenig, vice president and senior director of the Scowcroft Center, was interviewed on BBC World Service on the emerging Trump 2.0 foreign policy doctrine. He shares his analysis of President Trump’s negotiation tactics for the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, including the president’s idea for a “two-track NATO” and his plan […]

Middle East NATO

In the News

Feb 25, 2025

Warrick joins Times Radio to discuss Putin’s objections to NATO peacekeepers on the ground

By Atlantic Council

NATO Russia

Inflection Points Today

Feb 24, 2025

History’s clock is ticking (again) in Germany

By Frederick Kempe

Likely incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s election-night mention of the need for “independence” from Washington signals the stakes of this moment for Germany and Europe.

Elections Germany

TURKEYSource

Feb 21, 2025

In strengthening its security architecture, Europe shouldn’t discount Türkiye’s role

By Yavuz Türkgenci

Europe needs to look outside of its current framework for security solutions. Türkiye can play a role.

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

Issue Brief

Feb 20, 2025

Issue brief: A NATO strategy for countering Russia

By Ian Brzezinski, Ryan Arick

Russia poses the most direct and growing threat to NATO member states' security. This threat now includes the war in Ukraine, militarization in the Arctic, hybrid warfare, and arms control violations. Despite NATO's military and economic superiority, a unified and effective strategy is essential to counter Russia's aggression.

Cybersecurity Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Feb 18, 2025

Transatlantic alliance enters most challenging period since Suez crisis

By Edward Verona

The conclusion that many observers are drawing from the 2025 Munich Security Conference is that the United States, at least during the Trump presidency, is no longer willing to guarantee European security, writes Edward Verona.

Conflict European Union

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2025

What to make of the unfolding Trump strategy on Ukraine

By Daniel Fried

Trump's call with Putin and his secretary of defense's comments with NATO counterparts stirred controversy. But the unfolding strategy could be the basis for a decent outcome for Ukraine.

Defense Policy NATO

New Atlanticist

Feb 4, 2025

The next German chancellor must lead from the front, not the middle, on European security

By Rachel Rizzo, James Batchik

From support for Ukraine to defense spending, German leaders would be wise to take the phrase Führung aus der Mitte permanently out of their vocabulary.

Elections Germany

TURKEYSource

Jan 24, 2025

There’s a path forward for Turkey-Greece cooperation—but it requires a dose of realism

By Harry Tzimitras

For a successful Turkey-Greece partnership, both sides need to actively seize the opportunities of cooperation.

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

Jan 23, 2025

NATO chief: Cost of Russian victory in Ukraine would be ‘trillions not billions’

By Peter Dickinson

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has warned NATO leaders that a Russian victory in Ukraine would cost alliance members "trillions not billions," writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Industry

Experts

Events