The One Where We Talk About NATO at a Party

You’re making the rounds at a party when someone asks you about NATO. Is it still important? The alliance is credited with preventing a third world war, but a lot of us don’t know what it is or how it works. This episode takes a look at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from the ground up, paired best with a cold drink.

Play Button Pause Button
0:00 0:00
x
Host
  • Gabrielle Sierra
    Director, Podcasting
Credits

Asher Ross - Supervising Producer

Markus Zakaria - Audio Producer and Sound Designer

Rafaela Siewert - Associate Podcast Producer

Episode Guests
  • Charles A. Kupchan
    Senior Fellow
  • Alina Polyakova
    President and CEO, Center for European Policy Analysis

Show Notes

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is credited with bringing a peaceful end to the Cold War and preventing conflict in the seven decades since its founding. At the core of the alliance is its collective defense provision, Article V, which stipulates that an attack on any of its twenty-nine members is tantamount to an attack on all.

 

But in recent years, criticism has mounted that member states are getting a free ride at the United States’ expense—enjoying NATO’s security umbrella without contributing enough to its maintenance. In this episode, experts Charles Kupchan and Alina Polyakova layout NATO’s history, its current role, and the danger of forgetting why it was created in the first place.

 

From CFR

 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” Jonathan Masters

 

Does NATO Still Matter?,” Council on Foreign Relations

 

Seven Decades of NATO,” James M. Lindsay, Corey Cooper, and Elizabeth Lordi

 

Ukraine: Conflict at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia,” Jonathan Masters

 

Read More

 

NATO’s website

 

Trump Warns NATO Allies to Spend More on Defense, or Else,” New York Times

 

Trump’s reported desire to leave NATO is a belated Christmas present for Putin,” NBC News

 

Trump keeps criticizing NATO allies over spending. Here’s how NATO’s budget actually works.,” Business Insider

 

Trump administration to cut its financial contribution to NATO,” CNN

 

Watch or Listen

 

The birth of NATO,” NATO

 

The Russians Are Coming: NATO’s Frontier,” Vice News

 

NATO’s increasing close calls with Russia,” CNN

 

Europe’s frontline: the Latvians caught in Russia and Nato’s Baltic war games,” Guardian

 

Nato summit: The rifts behind its 70th birthday bash,” BBC

Maternal and Child Health

In the past thirty years, sixty countries have expanded access to abortion care as an underpinning of maternal health. The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade made the United States the fourth country ever to decrease access to abortion—and the world took notice. Some countries have since reinforced protections for abortion care, while others have moved to further restrict it.

India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular man in India. On track to be elected for a third term, he has boosted the country’s global standing and propelled strong economic growth while consolidating power and galvanizing majoritarian support for his Hindu nationalist agenda—all while growing closer to the United States. How could Hindu nationalism reshape India?

Media

In a wide-ranging conversation, Foreign Affairs Editor Dan Kurtz-Phelan joins Why It Matters to discuss nonpartisan publishing in a polarized political climate, the state of press freedom around the world, and the future of journalism.

Top Stories on CFR

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

The war in Ukraine marks a new era of instability in Europe. Countering Russia’s efforts will require a stronger, more coordinated NATO.

China

After the rise of Chinese power during the 2010s and failed U.S. policies in the Indo-Pacific, the United States should renew the Pivot to Asia and place the region at the center of its grand strategy.*

France

Far-right advances in the European Parliament elections have destabilized politics in France, a longstanding pillar of the European Union, and highlighted fault lines in the bloc.