Trump oder nicht, die NATO muss sich ändern

Submission Statement: “The alliance faces numerous challenges. To cope, European members should shoulder more of the collective burden.” James H. Armstead, Jr. argues that while NATO has successfully kept European countries secure for decades, the geopolitical context has changed significantly with the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of threats like China and renewed Russian aggression. As a result, the balance of burden-sharing within NATO needs to shift, with European countries taking on more responsibility for their own defense so that NATO remains effective and the US does not have to provide the bulk of resources. Europeans should strengthen their defenses, either within or outside the NATO structure, so that the alliance can better address contemporary security challenges.

As of 2024, 23 of the 32 NATO countries hit their targets of 2% of the GDP spent on defense. Raising this to all 32 would be a practical next step.

The world would be safer without NATO