Bottom Line
- Given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there’s an urgent need to rethink how NATO as a political organization needs to be upgraded.
- The growing importance of energy security and cyber defense may require additions or revisions to NATO’s diplomatic architecture.
- It is now time for experts and government officials to convene and review Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty—which enshrines the principle of collective defense—to consider modernizing the alliance for a new era of warfare and geopolitics.
Collective defense is at the heart of European security. Enshrined within
Article 5 of its founding treaty, NATO allies see “an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.” Written over seventy years ago with the threat of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe in mind, Article 5 has been formally invoked just once—in support of the United States following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Collective defense held throughout Europe and prevented open military conflict between NATO allies and the Soviet Union. In the 21st century, however, conflict can take many forms. With that in mind, it’s worth considering whether the time has come to review the text of Article 5 in light of current trends in warfare which may not be captured in the original “armed attack” language.
