Part of Transatlantic Security
NATO and European Security
The security and defense landscape in Europe is shifting. For almost 70 years, NATO has been the world’s most important and successful military alliance. Today, Europeans question the United States’ commitment to the Alliance and the transatlantic partnership more broadly. This is pushing European countries to rethink Europe’s security order and launch new defense initiatives to increase their autonomy. The United Kingdom’s departure from the EU also has far-reaching implications for European defense.
Beyond these shifting internal dynamics, there are a set of external threats to NATO that are emerging and evolving—including terrorism, cyber, and hybrid attacks. As the 2018 NATO Summit in Brussels made clear, to persist and remain effective, NATO must adapt to meet these challenges.
The Transatlantic Security Program produces analysis and recommendations to strengthen the mutual security of the United States and our European partners and allies. We aim to generate policies and approaches to enhance NATO’s resilience and ability to adapt to 21st-century challenges. We do this by drawing on the knowledge and real-world experience of our team and associated adjunct fellows, US and European policymakers, government and military officials, and defense industry leaders. We convene high-level roundtables and forums and produce in-depth, policy-relevant analysis. One of the program’s signature projects is an annual table top exercise that grants senior policymakers the opportunity to test their assumptions about a particular region or threat in real time.
