The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949 by the U.S., Canada, and a few European countries to provide security against the former Soviet Union. The involved countries created the group as an answer to the Cold War safety concerns during the Soviet Union’s aspirations to increase their control and power on the global stage.
Article 5, one of the most important parts of NATO, states that “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs … Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”
In short, an attack on one member of NATO would be considered an attack on all members, and as a result, military support would be required from all members. NATO has only invoked Article 5 once in its history; this was after the 9/11 terrorist attack on U.S. soil in 2001. There were eight separate measures taken. These included intelligence-sharing, support against any alliance members’ risk for terrorism, increased security for Allies and their territories, air clearances for allied planes, port and airfield military access, naval military support and airborne military support. This was a prime example of the collective defense that makes NATO a key part of the global stability of democracy.
The ultimate irony is that, although the U.S. has been the only example of benefiting directly from the invocation of Article 5, the future of NATO appears to be in doubt now that Trump has won a second term in office as the 47th President of the United States.
One of the requirements of NATO members states that they must contribute 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) towards military spending. During his first term, Trump was highly critical of NATO and some of the member countries due to this requirement not being met by all countries. He made waves with comments about some of the alliance members during that time. Trump went on to make threats about leaving NATO, in addition to not offering support to member nations who did not contribute their part to military defense, as evidenced by lashing out on X (formerly Twitter). At this point, the U.S. contributes 3.5% of its GDP to defense spending, close to $860 billion. Four years ago, only about one-third of member nations contributed 2% of their GDP to defense spending, a number that has risen to two-thirds of member nations as of 2024. For the remaining countries, Trump, at a rally earlier this year, stated “In fact, I would encourage them [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.” Trump has appeared to approach his treatment of NATO Alliance members like a disgruntled landlord, shaming and threatening them with eviction of military protection.
Source: Trump on X
Currently, NATO has deployed troops to Romania to secure the southeastern flank in response to potential security threats from Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine. Trump’s potential plan for the Ukraine conflict may also reflect his overall plan for further involvement with NATO. Trump will likely not support Ukraine’s bid to become part of NATO, with Ukraine’s hopes of securing its protection from Russia through NATO membership disappearing forever. Some experts believe that Trump would like to stop the potential further expansion of NATO in other eastern countries like Georgia. Trump appears to likely favor making a deal with Putin to agree on how much Ukrainian territory Russia can keep as a part of the potential negotiation. All of this reduction in NATO expansion is in line with Trump’s goal of less U.S. military involvement abroad and less support for NATO. Some experts believe that with less U.S. support, the remaining alliance member nations would not be able to offer the same protections outlined in Article 5.
What does this spell for Russia and its goals for regional domination? That question will only be answered once Trump takes office, and his real plans for NATO are realized.
