Can Europe Defend Itself Without America?

Over the last few days, the Trump Administration ordered a pause on some military aid to Ukraine, including vital air defense materials, while Putin’s Russia conducted its largest bombardment of that country yet. And the backdrop for all of this was a NATO summit where NATO’s non-European members finally pledged to up their military spending past a long-agreed (but classically ignored) minimum of 2% of GDP.

Clearly, NATO’s European members are getting the message that the U.S. may not be around to protect them from Russia for much longer. But it’s one thing for Europe to finally get itself in gear, and quite another for it to defend itself against a large and highly aggressive autocracy. Can Europe’s “strategy cacophony” straighten out and coordinate without its traditional American conductor, or is the NATO alliance destined to fall apart amongst infighting, domestic political troubles and Russian intrigue? We have thoughts!

00:00 Introduction

02:30 NATO and Military Budgeting

03:01 US Military Aid Pause and NATO Summit

22:50 Guns vs. Butter: The Political Dilemma

23:10 Right-Wing Parties and Russia

24:54 Russia's Military and Economic State

25:32 US and European Perspectives on Russia

31:59 NATO's Strategic Adjustments

37:40 Future of European Security