Sharper: NATO 75

From July 9–11, NATO leaders from across the Atlantic will gather in Washington, DC for the 2024 NATO Summit, which marks the 75th anniversary of the alliance. This meeting will not only mark a milestone in the history of the alliance, but also will come at a pivotal time for transatlantic relations and security. Against the backdrop of the upcoming United States presidential election, leaders will tackle how to support Ukraine's resistance to Russia's invasion and how to secure NATO’s future. As one of the co-hosts of the NATO Public Forum alongside the summit, CNAS and its experts are playing a key role in shaping the summit’s agenda and sharpening the conversation about the future of this critical alliance in its 75th year. Read the latest edition of Sharper to explore their ideas and recommendations over the years.

Features

Identifying Russian Vulnerabilities and How to Leverage Them

December 2023

In December, CNAS published a collection of ten essays outlining Russia’s most critical vulnerabilities in the defense, economic, diplomatic, and political domains. The essays also provide a roadmap for how the United States and its allies could exploit and leverage these weaknesses. The essays cover topics ranging from Russia’s defense industry, arms sales, technology and cyber industries, financial sector, reliance on oil and gas, and its war on Ukraine. The report further explores Russia’s declining influence in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, Russia’s crumbling diplomacy, Russian emigration, and Russian public opinion about the Putin regime.

How Finnish and Swedish NATO Accession Could Shape the Future Russian Threat

January 2023

This CNAS policy brief argues that Finland's and Sweden's accession into NATO will permanently reshape the European security architecture. To manage the short-term and long-term evolution of the Russian threat resulting from the alliance’s new round of enlargement, the authors assert that the United States and NATO should prepare to face new threats. The policy brief also offers a set of recommendations for how the allies can address the future challenges stemming from these changing dynamics.

Fireside Chat with Senator Jack Reed

April 2023

Last year, CNAS hosted a fireside chat between Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn, senior fellow and director of the CNAS Defense Program. Senator Reed outlined his priorities for the Department of Defense and discussed a range of issues, including ongoing support to Ukraine and investment in NATO allies, the challenge posed by China, the health of the U.S. industrial base, and the formal security alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States—commonly known as AUKUS.

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts Live with Jens Stoltenberg and Julianne Smith

June 2023

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend for a conversation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing response to the war from NATO allies, lessons learned from the conflict, and the future of the alliance.

Discussing Two Years of War in Ukraine with Marie Yovanovitch and William Taylor

February 2024

Now into the third year of war, Ukraine faces a challenging outlook. No longer are U.S. and European leaders talking about Russia’s strategic failure in its invasion. Indeed, the Kremlin appears confident that things are heading in Russia’s direction after Ukraine’s 2023 offensive and signs of U.S. reticence to sustain military support to the Ukrainian effort. Two former U.S. ambassadors to Ukraine, Bill Taylor and Marie Yovanovitch, join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss where Ukraine stands two years after Russia’s brutal invasion.

NATO’s Security Guarantees for Ukraine

July 2023

One of the biggest topics on the agenda at the 2022 NATO Summit was how to guarantee long-term security for Ukraine. Given that NATO membership is unrealistic before the end of active fighting with Russia, the West will need to find an alternative arrangement that allows Ukraine to remain secure in the interim. Liana Fix and Eric Ciaramella join the CNAS Brussels Sprouts podcast to discuss their ideas for what it will take to guarantee Ukraine’s security as well as the future of Western support for Kyiv more broadly.

Commentary

What NATO Allies Must Do to Prepare for Russian Aggression

March 2024

“Equipped with an understanding of the risk Russia’s opportunistic aggression poses, the U.S. and its NATO allies must build consensus over how to increase and optimize the military capabilities of multiple nations across Europe and increase U.S. contributions accordingly,” write Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Greg Weaver for POLITICO Europe. “And while multiple NATO members have already increased their defense spending since the invasion of Ukraine, the key will be for allies to invest some of their greater spending on the capabilities the U.S. wouldn’t be able to provide if engaged militarily elsewhere.”

NATO’s Confusion Over the Russia Threat

February 2024

“The Russian military has proved its staying power under adverse battlefield conditions in Ukraine, demonstrated a willingness to endure great losses, and retained the ability to attrit Ukrainian forces and go on the offense,” observes Franz-Stefan Gady for Foreign Policy. “Consequently, even if NATO planners determine that a Russian blitzkrieg against the Baltics is only a low-probability scenario, it would be a mistake to underestimate Russia in the coming years. Common sense dictates that the bloc needs to prepare for multiple scenarios and timelines—lest we be surprised once again, like we were in 2022, when Russia does something most Europeans thought was unthinkable.”

NATO Can Help Create a Global Security Architecture

July 2023

“Russia’s war on Ukraine has resulted in inflation, food shortages, and disruptions in global supply chains while likely emboldening and providing tips for Beijing’s and Pyongyang’s own strategic calculations,” argues Dr. Duyeon Kim for Foreign Policy. “NATO for its part would be able to broaden its political-military network and contribute to Indo-Pacific security in practical ways, and its AP4 partners (South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand) would become members of a global security community of like-minded countries that support one another across multiple domains. In these ways, NATO could also become the first forum in which hard security issues are discussed at a global level.”

In the News

Featuring commentary and analysis from Katherine Kuzminski, Becca Wasser, and Jim Townsend.

About the Sharper Series

The CNAS Sharper series features curated analysis and commentary from CNAS experts on the most critical challenges in U.S. foreign policy. From the future of America's relationship with China to the state of U.S. sanctions policy and more, each collection draws on the reports, interviews, and other commentaries produced by experts across the Center to explore how America can strengthen its competitive edge.