In War on the Rocks, Moritz S. Graefrath and Gesine Weber argue that Europe must abandon illusions about restoring the old transatlantic order. They contend that under Donald Trump, Washington treats alliances instrumentally, seeking rent extraction rather than partnership, and no longer sees Europe as a strategic equal. Despite rhetorical alarm over episodes such as Trump’s Greenland threats, European leaders remain trapped in a “transatlantic reflex,” still assuming U.S. protection is indispensable. The authors reject claims by Mark Rutte that Europe cannot defend itself without America, arguing the continent has the latent economic and military capacity to do so. They call for a European grand strategy that phases out U.S. security dependence, prioritises closing capability gaps, and reorganises NATO into a primarily European alliance. A core group led by France, Germany and the UK should drive rearmament, reduce reliance on U.S. enablers and, in the long term, confront the nuclear question.
randommathaccount on
I’ll go one step beyond the article’s mention of Trump and say that Europe ought to take its defense primarily into its own hands even if it were absolutely certain a democratic administration would come in next. There is no certainty that the US’s priorities will be the defence of Europe and in some situations it might even ought not to be (for instance in the case of a war in the Pacific). Europe has the capacity to improve its defenses, it just needs the actualised will. For every ten speeches, where is the policy in practice that will bring this about?
RiceKrispies29 on
>Of course, any genuine move towards strategic autonomy will require sacrifices. Increased spending on defense will come at the expense of other areas, such as welfare spending, industrial subsidies, or climate policy. And more European citizens will have to serve in their militaries instead of pursuing other careers.
The exact reason any lurch towards true strategic independence won’t last past the end of the current administration. Decades of underspending can’t be reversed overnight.
3 Comments
In War on the Rocks, Moritz S. Graefrath and Gesine Weber argue that Europe must abandon illusions about restoring the old transatlantic order. They contend that under Donald Trump, Washington treats alliances instrumentally, seeking rent extraction rather than partnership, and no longer sees Europe as a strategic equal. Despite rhetorical alarm over episodes such as Trump’s Greenland threats, European leaders remain trapped in a “transatlantic reflex,” still assuming U.S. protection is indispensable. The authors reject claims by Mark Rutte that Europe cannot defend itself without America, arguing the continent has the latent economic and military capacity to do so. They call for a European grand strategy that phases out U.S. security dependence, prioritises closing capability gaps, and reorganises NATO into a primarily European alliance. A core group led by France, Germany and the UK should drive rearmament, reduce reliance on U.S. enablers and, in the long term, confront the nuclear question.
I’ll go one step beyond the article’s mention of Trump and say that Europe ought to take its defense primarily into its own hands even if it were absolutely certain a democratic administration would come in next. There is no certainty that the US’s priorities will be the defence of Europe and in some situations it might even ought not to be (for instance in the case of a war in the Pacific). Europe has the capacity to improve its defenses, it just needs the actualised will. For every ten speeches, where is the policy in practice that will bring this about?
>Of course, any genuine move towards strategic autonomy will require sacrifices. Increased spending on defense will come at the expense of other areas, such as welfare spending, industrial subsidies, or climate policy. And more European citizens will have to serve in their militaries instead of pursuing other careers.
The exact reason any lurch towards true strategic independence won’t last past the end of the current administration. Decades of underspending can’t be reversed overnight.