The UK cannot be complacent about the continuing existence of
NATO: a world without the alliance would be even more fractious
and less secure, while giving up on NATO would be “whimsical,
reckless, self-harming and self-defeating”, argues a new Policy
Exchange paper, Remaking the Case for NATO: Collective
Security and the British National Interest. As the NATO
summit opens in Brussels and President Trump prepares to visit
the UK, both the alliance and the UK’s role within it require
urgent political attention. The importance of NATO to British
national security cannot be overstated and government must show
more confidence in Britain’s leading role within it.
There is no viable successor to NATO as the guarantor of European
security or the foundation stone of transatlantic unity. The
report recommends that:
- · If the
UK government takes the health and survival of NATO seriously,
the absolute bare minimum it must do is to commit to a graduated
increase in defence spending that breaks free from the 2%
threshold, while also signalling a willingness to make further
leaps towards 3% should the geopolitical situation demand it.
- · This
will enable the UK to lead the way to quell American concerns
about the failure of European partners to commit more funds to
their own national defence, both at the summit and during
President Trump’s visit next weekend, to put the vital
relationship with the United States on a firmer long-term
footing.
- · After
Brexit, the UK’s commitment to the defence of Europe should
continue through the NATO framework, and the UK should discourage
any further attempts at against closer EU defence integration
that duplicate or compete with the transatlantic alliance.
- · The UK
must also be a forceful advocate for a revived twenty-first
century western alliance, given that the biggest threats to
NATO’s cohesion currently come from within. Apathy, historical
amnesia and wishful thinking are three enemies of NATO that need
to be tackled head on by government and all political parties.
Former NATO Secretary General and former Defence
Secretary have written a Foreword
to the report, in which they say:
“NATO is arguably more important to the UK today than at any time
since 1949, as we seek to preserve our security and prosperity.
“For NATO to survive beyond its seventieth birthday next year, it
is vital that it continues to constitute a credible deterrent.
This cannot simply be measured by the numbers of boots on the
ground or the quality of military hardware but on the basis of
political will and the sense of unity that has kept the alliance
together. It is essential that NATO members respond to the
demands to commit more to collective defence.
“Our government and our political classes have a responsibility
to remind people of NATO’s historical purpose and all the
advantages it has brought to the West, in general, and the UK, in
particular. Complacency, apathy and lazy criticism of the
Alliance needs to be tackled head on. By banding together, NATO
members have saved incalculable amounts in blood and treasure.
“Ultimately, NATO should not be seen as an unwelcome strain on
the public purse – or an awkward relic of the Cold War era – but
instead as the most enduring and fruitful multi-nation alliance
in history, a triumph of British diplomatic ingenuity, and a
guarantor of prosperity and security at a record low historical
cost.”
Professor John Bew, head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the
World project and the lead author of the report, said:
“A strong, healthy and forward-looking NATO is an absolute
strategic necessity for Britain. It is arguably as important to
our security, and therefore prosperity, as it was in the years of
its creation after the Second World War. At this week’s summit,
and during President Trump’s visit, the Prime Minister has an
opportunity to show that the UK is prepared to lead in NATO,
particularly in the amount we are willing to spend on defence.
Although people sometimes object that these spending targets are
symbolic, symbolism matters, particularly to the current US
President.
“The history of NATO has often been a fractious one but the story
is also, for the most part, one of remarkable success. Giving up
on the most successful and stabilising alliance in the history of
international relations because of current political tensions
would be whimsical, self-harming and self-defeating.
“NATO’s principal challenge today is not financial or operational
but political. Unless the UK makes the positive
case for NATO it will be further damaged by misconception,
misunderstanding and deliberate subversion, from voices as
diverse as President Trump and .”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Remaking the Case for NATO: Collective Security and the
British National Interest, by John Bew, Gabriel Elefteriu
and Andrew Ehrhardt, with a Foreword by Rt Hon , will be published on
Monday 9th July.
