The US president, Donald Trump, has arrived in the UK for a summit of NATO leaders – but it’s awkward timing for the British prime minister, Boris Johnson.
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump meet the press at the 2019 NATO summit in London.
AP Photo/ Evan Vucci
As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization celebrates its 70th anniversary with a leaders’ meeting in London, five US scholars shed light on NATO’s history and its potential future.
The EU and NATO: aligned but not always together.
Nedelcu Paul Petru/Shutterstock
Since the 1940s, Congress has largely let the president make decisions, while members of the House and Senate endorse or condemn those actions from the sidelines.
An alliance at odds: NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, met the Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Istanbul.
Tolga Bozoglu/EPA
The fallout for President Trump from his conversation with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy was swift and harsh. The consequences for Zelenskiy and his country could also be serious.
Death in detention: the aftermath of an airstrike on the Tajoura camp in Tripoli in July 2019.
EPA
Turkey’s authoritarian leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was handed a big defeat recently when his party’s candidate lost a crucial election contest. Is this the beginning of Erdogan’s demise?
A man surveys the wreckage after a NATO strike misses its target and hits an apartment block in 1999.
EPA
Five years after Crimea returned to Russia, the east-west stalemate over Ukraine is far from stable.
Pro-Europeans protest against the rulling coalition Social Democrat Party (PSD) next to the Romanian Atheneum during the ceremony of taking over the Presidency of EU Council in Bucharest January 10, 2019.
Daniel Mihailescu/AFP
With Romania at the helm of the EU, many fear that there’s a bumpy ride ahead. But there’s no need to worry (too much).
Military action during the NATO-led military exercise in Trondheim, Norway on Oct. 30, 2018. The NATO exercises included some 3,000 troops, 20 ships, several tanks and about 50 aircraft from various nations.
(Gorm Kallestad/NTB scanpix via AP)
Military exercises are more than just ‘war games’ – they’re aimed at signalling military capability and intent. But NATO must honour its commitment to transparency, and pressure Russia to do the same.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban addresses supporters after the parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, April 8, 2018.
RREUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has transformed from a liberal into an authoritarian leader who uses the tools of democracy to attack civil society. Hungarians are protesting in the streets.
Look out for Russian influence.
M-SUR/Shutterstock.com
Terry Thompson, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
European countries, especially the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have confronted Russian disinformation campaigns for decades. The US can learn from their experience.
Trump’s sudden decision on Syria proved the final straw for Mattis.
EPA