Constanze Stelzenmüller

So, assuming there is a second Trump term, even if the president doesn’t decide on one fine morning he wants to leave NATO, there are a variety of ways that much harm can be done to the alliance.

The Reagan era ushered in four decades of a deliberate degradation and disinvestment in the institutions of the state, based on the theory that small government is good and the rest can be taken care of by markets. That is what sets apart this American moment from other moments in Western democracies that also are struggling with this pandemic.

I have sympathy for the criticism of Germany’s low defense spending, which does set a bad example for other member states who spend even less – it’s against Europe’s and our own interest. Moving Eucom to Belgium actually makes sense, but I find the strategic rationale for the other movements much less persuasive.