The Coming Crisis of NATO Deterrence

Penn Washington Executive Director Celeste Wallander has a new piece in Foreign Affairs making the case that deterrence, the kind that kept a nuclear-armed Russia from expanding further into Europe for decades, is being dangerously under resourced right now. Drawing on her experience as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Wallander traces the costly pattern of American disengagement from European security in the 20th century and argues that history offers a clear warning about what happens when the U.S. steps back from credible defense commitments.