Foreign Policy

A NATO Overview - February 21, 2024

NATO was first created when the United States and other European nations came forward to join the North Atlantic Treaty to defend their nations against various types of attacks. NATO was formed in 1949, after WWII. NATO started with only 12 member countries namely: Belgium, Denmark, Canada, France, Italy, Iceland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.^[1] The current membership stands at 31 countries. The latest member, Finland, joined the alliance in April 2023.

The primary objective of NATO is to safeguard and protect the freedom of its members without compromising on their security. NATO works towards defending member countries against terrorism, cyber-attack, and weapons of mass destruction. 

In the aftermath of the 2008 recession, member countries began cutting back on their defense spending as their countries were trying to recover. In 2010, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed concern about NATO members cutting back on military spending for their active-duty forces and further shifting the burden of NATO’s collective defense onto the U.S. The following year, Gates warned of a “dim, if not dismal future” for NATO if member countries did not “halt and reverse” the decline in defense spending.^[2]

Commitment of 2% to Defense Spending

At a 2014 summit in Wales, NATO countries agreed to commit 2% of their national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defense spending, to help ensure NATO’s continued military readiness.

From 2014 to 2016, four members of NATO actually decreased their defense expenditures. While the remaining 26 countries increased, most were by very modest amounts.^[1] 

However, every member country increased their spending from their 2017 amount to their 2020 amount. 

The United Kingdom’s Ambassador to the United States, Dame Karen Pierce, said recently, "NATO countries have increased their expenditures on defense, and some of the credit, a lot of the credit for that, does go to President Trump when he was in office."

^[1] A Brief Overview to the NATO full form - Elite IAS Academy

^[2] Factcheck.org. Feb 12.2024 

^[3] NATO - News: Defence Expenditures of NATO Countries (2014-2022), 27-Jun.-2022