The Transatlantic Security Landscape in Europe

Abstract

The geopolitical and strategic landscape in Europe has transformed fundamentally under the Russian challenge to the Transatlantic Alliance. The alliance response to the annexation of Crimea and Russian hybrid warfare in Ukraine strengthened and demonstrated resolve on the part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the Baltic states and Poland with an Enhanced Forward Presence of rotational troops. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and disintegration of the Soviet Union, NATO has accepted new members that pursued democracy, free markets, rule of law, and human rights as well as a stable European and international order. The future of Transatlantic relations will be impacted by European defense spending, the implications of U.K. withdrawal from the European Union, Russian foreign policy, and the ability of the Atlantic Alliance to move from assurance to a strong deterrence and defense posture in the East and at the same time confront the challenges from the south. The chapter addresses the major challenges to transatlantic security, focuses on the UK, France, and Germany and lays out future challenges.