{"title":"Adapting NATO to Great-Power Competition","authors":"H. Larsen","doi":"10.1080/0163660X.2022.2148507","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, NATO’s main challenge is to eliminate doubts about its strength and resolve to defend every inch of its territory, as stated in its recently published Strategic Concept, an authoritative document for the alliance’s strategic direction until 2030 (and beyond). By the Vilnius Summit in the summer of 2023, the alliance is set to complete the transition to a new NATO Force Model to deter Russian aggression. However, NATO’s adaptation to the military threat posed by Russia is complicated by the simultaneous need to factor in the rise of China. A rising China is stretching US military resources, and its technological clout creates vulnerabilities for a functioning defense alliance. These are vulnerabilities to which European NATO members must be especially attuned. While NATO as a whole faces the simultaneous need to adapt to the increased threat from Russia and the rise of China, this is a project whose success essentially depends on the European allies, whose defense and resilience are currently under stress. The good news for NATO’s cohesive power is that the invasion of Ukraine has seemingly shattered the alliance’s naïveté about being able to separate geopolitics from commercial interests in dealing with Russia, complementing a growing concern over the past six years or so about maintaining trade ties with an increasingly assertive China. Europe appears more united and more determined than ever to balance against illiberal powers threatening its security and values, and ready to do so as part of a larger transatlantic effort. To that end, this article seeks to make two major contributions to the debate over how Europe should","PeriodicalId":46957,"journal":{"name":"Washington Quarterly","volume":"45 1","pages":"7 - 26"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Washington Quarterly","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/0163660X.2022.2148507","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
Following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, NATO’s main challenge is to eliminate doubts about its strength and resolve to defend every inch of its territory, as stated in its recently published Strategic Concept, an authoritative document for the alliance’s strategic direction until 2030 (and beyond). By the Vilnius Summit in the summer of 2023, the alliance is set to complete the transition to a new NATO Force Model to deter Russian aggression. However, NATO’s adaptation to the military threat posed by Russia is complicated by the simultaneous need to factor in the rise of China. A rising China is stretching US military resources, and its technological clout creates vulnerabilities for a functioning defense alliance. These are vulnerabilities to which European NATO members must be especially attuned. While NATO as a whole faces the simultaneous need to adapt to the increased threat from Russia and the rise of China, this is a project whose success essentially depends on the European allies, whose defense and resilience are currently under stress. The good news for NATO’s cohesive power is that the invasion of Ukraine has seemingly shattered the alliance’s naïveté about being able to separate geopolitics from commercial interests in dealing with Russia, complementing a growing concern over the past six years or so about maintaining trade ties with an increasingly assertive China. Europe appears more united and more determined than ever to balance against illiberal powers threatening its security and values, and ready to do so as part of a larger transatlantic effort. To that end, this article seeks to make two major contributions to the debate over how Europe should
期刊介绍:
The Washington Quarterly (TWQ) is a journal of global affairs that analyzes strategic security challenges, changes, and their public policy implications. TWQ is published out of one of the world"s preeminent international policy institutions, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and addresses topics such as: •The U.S. role in the world •Emerging great powers: Europe, China, Russia, India, and Japan •Regional issues and flashpoints, particularly in the Middle East and Asia •Weapons of mass destruction proliferation and missile defenses •Global perspectives to reduce terrorism Contributors are drawn from outside as well as inside the United States and reflect diverse political, regional, and professional perspectives.