Three priorities for NATO partnerships in a contested world
New Atlanticist
by
Lisa Aronsson and Brett Swaney
NATO heads of state and government look at a digital installation after posing for a family photo during the NATO summit at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 14, 2021. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Pool via REUTERS.
This article is part of the Transatlantic Security Initiative’s Stronger with Allies series, which charts the course forward for the Alliance in conjunction with the 2021 NATO Summit.
The NATO Summit came at a pivotal moment for the Alliance as it adapts to a new security environment shaped by transnational challenges and increasing competition with Russia and, most significantly, China. The challenges associated with China’s rise first surfaced in official NATO documents during the 2019 Leaders Meeting, where allies agreed on the need to respond collectively. Since then, allied positions have hardened considerably as a result of the pandemic, China’s “wolf-warrior diplomacy,” economic coercion, and human-rights abuses. Today’s NATO Summit communiqué outlines China’s “systemic challenge to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security.”