In many respects the alliance looks stronger than ever. Yet NATO is also deeply troubled
alliance deserves a resounding “happy birthday”. It kept the peace for 40 years of cold war, protected western Europe from communism, helped stabilise central Europe after the Soviet Union’s collapse and enabled unprecedented prosperity. It has shown admirable openness, adaptability and commitment.
In many respects the alliance looks stronger than ever. It will soon have 30 members, encompassing more than 930m people. Together they produce around half the world’sand account for about 55% of global defence spending. The allies are getting on with a long to-do list drawn up at last year’s summit, from ambitious readiness plans to new command centres.
, say Donald Trump has “hurtled the alliance into its most worrisome crisis in memory”. In a thorough assessment of “at Seventy” for Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Centre, they set out a daunting array of the challenges it faces. The greatest of them is “the absence of strong, principled American presidential leadership for the first time in its history”.a favour by concentrating minds on the need for the allies to spend more, and do more, for their own defence.
One is speed. Having to co-ordinate 30 countries makes quick decisions harder, yet they will become ever more vital. Streamlining’s bureaucracy should help, but it is not enough. James Stavridis, who served as supreme allied commander for Europe, says that if he could wave a magic wand, decisions in the North Atlantic Council , where members vote, could be reached with a three-quarters majority rather than unanimously.
But eventually a clearer division of labour between Europeans and Americans will need to be considered. Stephen Walt of Harvard Kennedy School says there could be a time for “a new transatlantic bargain” between America and its European allies: America agrees to stay on in Europe, but at a reduced level of engagement; the Europeans agree to up their game in their own region and take on board America’s concerns over China on trade and intellectual property.
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