NATO Burden-sharing in the COVID-19 Era: A Diminishing U.S. Appetite for Security Guarantees for Europe?

Burden-sharing is not a new area of contention among NATO members. Inthe post-Cold War period, due to changes in the international conjuncture,burden-sharing has continued to be on NATO’s agenda through variousperiods and with different intensities. Among the various differences in attitudes and interests regarding NATO policies between the U.S. and European members, U.S. governments have raised the issue of burden-sharingin particular to emphasize that the U.S. spends more on defending Europe’ssecurity than do the European allies themselves. This article evaluates theburden-sharing issue, explains why it is constantly being raised by the U.S.and suggests concepts and policies with which to solve it. The article alsodiscusses the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on NATO, arguing that themost important challenge will be the pandemic’s effect on the global economy. Relatedly, COVID-19’s impact may also affect the success of NATO’spolicies and the U.S.’s influence on its European NATO allies in regard toits policies toward China. This suggests that burden-sharing will continueto occupy NATO’s agenda in the years ahead