Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 08/2014

Why Defense Matters: A New Narrative for NATO

Judy Dempsey

June 2014

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is in search of a new narrative. While Russia’s involvement in Eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea will not give NATO a new sense of solidarity, these events have highlighted what the alliance and its members must urgently do. It is time for all NATO countries to engage in a real strategic debate about why defense matters and what members should do to uphold the transatlantic relationship.