As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated economic shutdowns, NATO needs to do more than just go back to normal. China, Russia, and lesser authoritarians have used the health emergency as cover for clampdowns at home and aggression abroad. The alliance — the bulwark of transatlantic security — leaves the crisis as it entered it: slow, reactive, limited in its threat perceptions, under-utilized as a forum for consultation, constrained in ability to address non-military threats, and under-resourced. It now needs to think big: to take a comprehensive view of 21st century security threats, to re-establish itself as the essential forum for security consultations, and to break down barriers that have hamstrung it in the past.
OP-ED
Kurt Volker: Think big
The Nato logo is pictured during a panel discussion at an official NATO outreach event, 'Nato Engages' in central London on Dec. 3, 2019, prior to the NATO alliance summit.
