As NATO leaders gather in Brussels, U.S. President Joe Biden’s “America is Back” approach is expected to revive the alliance former U.S. President Donald Trump had dismissed as “obsolete” and demoralized by demanding members fulfill their never- hitherto-enforced obligation to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense, even upping the demand to 4 percent. About then, French President Emmanuel Macron also proclaimed the alliance “brain dead.”
However, for all the pomp and circumstance about America being, in President Biden’s words, being “back at the table” and “back at leading the world,” his foreign policy has continued in much the same groove as his predecessor’s. So can he really revive NATO?
The 2021 summit is expected to adopt a new “strategic concept” to replace that of 2010. Preparatory documents reveal that, inevitably, with Biden waging Trump’s New Cold War against China just as zealously, China will feature prominently.
Indeed, we can expect the summit to reveal just how central NATO is to Biden’s strategy for the New Cold War. President Biden’s trip to Europe was supposed to signal U.S. commitment to its allies. However, the allies are not his end but his means. He means to rally them in his “alliance of democracies” against the perceived threat of China.
Although, Biden has elected not to harangue NATO allies about increasing military spending to 2 percent, part of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s ideas for the new strategic concept focused critically on China appears to involve increasing the alliance’s common budget to enhance joint military capabilities by investing “more” and “better.” The figure of $20 billion over 10 years has been discussed. Most European countries are balking. French Defense Minister Florence Parly asked why this money should be taken away from already strained budgets for unspecified purposes. A larger common budget should ideally reflect a larger common purpose. However, NATO has never been less united.
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