Chicago Council on Global Affairs

As NATO Reaches 75th Year, Americans Say It Is Still Essential to US Security

With the NATO summit currently underway in Washington, DC, where does the US public stand on the alliance? New Council-Ipsos polling finds Americans across party lines continue to see NATO as a valuable component of US national security. However, Democrats (65%) are far more convinced than Republicans (41%) and Independents (50%) that transatlantic cooperation makes the country safer.

Key Findings

• Eight in 10 self-described Democrats (83%) and six in 10 Republicans (61%) and Independents (60%) say NATO is still essential to US security.
• The US public supports using persuasion and diplomacy to encourage NATO allies to increase defense spending in their countries (62%) rather than withholding US security commitment to NATO allies (34%).
• Republicans with a favorable view of former President Donald Trump are less positive than other Republicans about the importance of the alliance.
• Liberal Democrats are more solidly supportive of NATO than moderate/conservative Democrats, though majorities of both endorse the alliance.

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FP, JULY 11, 2024  

By Alexandra Sharp

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at NATO’s Ukraine security promises, South Korea building military lasers, and a full cabinet turnover in Kenya.

The 2024 NATO summit concluded in Washington on Thursday with a resounding call for greater efforts to protect Ukraine. Kyiv is on an “irreversible” path to membership, the bloc formally declared on Wednesday—one that will kick off once its war against Russia ends.

In the interim, NATO announced a series of steps aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defenses. The alliance said it would provide at least $43 billion in military aid to Kyiv within the next year, but it stopped short of a multiyear commitment that NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg advocated for. The United States, Denmark, and the Netherlands revealed that they have sent the first batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, which should be in the skies later this summer. Poland said it will train a unit of Ukrainians living in Poland to be deployed back to Kyiv. And NATO confirmed plans to establish a new command center in Germany aimed at coordinating arms and training logistics for Ukraine.

“We can and will defend every inch of NATO territory, and we will do it together,” U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday. France, Germany, Italy, and Poland agreed on Thursday to jointly develop long-range cruise missiles to address a gap in European defenses that Russia’s war in Ukraine has exposed. And Washington announced on Wednesday that it plans to start deploying longer-range weapons—including Tomahawk, SM-6, and hypersonic missiles—to Germany in 2026.

Despite efforts to counter Russia’s military influence, though, NATO reiterated on Wednesday that it “does not seek confrontation, and poses no threat to Russia,” adding that the alliance remains willing to “maintain channels of communication with Moscow to mitigate risk and prevent escalation.”

Russia was not the only focus of NATO’s ire this week. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol argued on Thursday that the Kremlin’s close ties with North Korea are a “stark reminder of the fact that the European security and the Indo-Pacific security are indivisible.” And on Wednesday, the alliance criticized China for being a “decisive enabler” of Moscow’s war efforts, demanding that Beijing cease all shipments of weapons components and other technological parts that are critical for Russia to rebuild its military.

China “cannot enable the largest war in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting its interests and reputation,” NATO warned in its official summit communique, though it did not specify what the repercussions would be. For Washington’s part, though, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the United States would continue to impose sanctions on Chinese entities involved in aiding Russia’s effort.

To end the multiday summit, Biden will hold a rare, high-stakes solo press conference on Thursday, where his ability to engage with reporters and answer questions clearly will be closely watched by his domestic political allies and opponents as well as the United States’ foreign allies and adversaries. It will be his first time facing the press alone since November, and it comes amid growing calls for Biden to end his reelection campaign after a poor debate performance in late June raised serious concerns about his stamina and mental acuity. Nine Democratic House members and one Democratic senator have urged Biden to step aside thus far.

NATO’s Washington Summit celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Alliance while looking ahead to the future. With NATO reinvigorated amidst the most challenging security environment since World War II, many challenges lie ahead, from: 1) charting Ukraine’s future into European institutions, 2) maintaining Alliance unity, and 3) enhancing the European pillar of NATO.

Join us on Friday, July 12 at 11am EDT | 17:00 CET as our Wilson Center experts unpack the takeaways, achievements, and opportunities offered by the summit. This discussion features experts from across the Wilson Center’s regional and thematic programs, offering insight into NATO’s future role in the Indo-Pacific, the Arctic, and at the nexus of climate and environmental security.

For more of our NATO content, visit the NATO @ 75 page.

Over a year has passed since Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a historic shift in the country’s long-standing military non-alignment and in European security in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Surpassing NATO’s defense spending target at 2.4% of GDP, Finland has a highly capable military and a demonstrated commitment to strengthening military interoperability and readiness within the alliance. Meanwhile, ending the Russia-Ukraine war on acceptable terms and answering questions about Ukrainian membership in NATO and the European Union remain challenges for Europe and the United States. And European leaders are closely monitoring the upcoming U.S. elections, preparing for various outcomes that could affect European security and the course of the war in Ukraine.

On July 23, the Strobe Talbott Center for Security Strategy and Technology and the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings will host Ambassador of Finland to the United States Mikko Hautala to discuss Finland’s role in NATO’s collective defense and the future of the alliance.

This event will be open to attend in person or watch online. Online viewers can submit questions via email to [email protected] or on X/Twitter @BrookingsFP using #NATO.

Discussion

Mikko Hautala, Ambassador of Finland to the United States
Co-moderator: Michael E. O’Hanlon, Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy, Senior Fellow, and Director, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Brookings
Co-moderator: Constanze Stelzenmüller, Fritz Stern Chair on Germany and Trans-Atlantic Relations, Senior Fellow, and Director, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings

RSVP to watch the webcast