NATO’s Revival Under Joe Biden: Aspirations and Obstacles

Posted on : September 29, 2021
Author : Sagnik Sarkar

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Introduction: The Hurdle Named ‘Donald Trump’ 

When one talks about the most successful Alliance in Global history, the name of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is surely going to pop into our heads. Indeed, the Organization, formed in 1949 as a response to Cold War politics, is a success story, so much so that it continues to exist, and even expand, even after almost three decades since the fall of the Eastern Bloc and the eventual death of its main reason of existence. 

But NATO, in its seven decades of existence, has faced innumerable jolts. Most prominent amongst them is the challenge posed by Donald Trump, for the former controversial US President considered the Alliance to be an ‘obsolete entity’, a relic of the Cold War. He believed that there was no need of it anymore. He wanted to side-line long-held international commitments which, according to him, did not serve America’s interests, thus putting ‘America First,’ apparently. On quest of this neo-Isolationism, he went on to the extent of threatening to pull out of NATO as well. He also falsely accused member states of owing money to Washington, like Germany. Calling the European allies as ones who have taken advantages from the US, he went on to claim that EU pays billions to Russia, highlighting how Russia is Europe’s principal source for oil and natural gas, thus creating a false dichotomy between energy reliance and NATO’s defence spending goals. He reimposed American sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project between EU and Russia. He even made comments about not intervening if Montenegro, a fairly new NATO member, was attacked, thus going against the Alliance’s very principle of ‘Collective Security’. And lastly, by slamming the EU for imposing fines on American tech-giants Google, he once again proved why his Presidential term was a setback for Transatlantic ties. Perhaps, therefore, the 2020 US Presidential Elections, and its results, came as a sigh of relief for America’s European allies.  

Joe Biden: NATO and Europe’s ‘Messiah’

Joe Biden’s election as the President marked the beginning of a change for Europe’s hopes, for the old man had always been a ‘transatlanticist’. Even during his days as the Vice-President of USA, he functioned as America’s leading draftsperson of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.  Subsequently, he undertook several initiatives for the betterment of NATO. This includes his efforts to expand the old organization, by including members of the one-time Warsaw Pact after the downfall of the Iron Curtain. In the Munich Security Conference of 2015, he laid out a blueprint of ‘revitalizing’ NATO, reinforcing democratic institutions in Europe, prioritizing investments to boost energy security, and grow trade and investment ties across the Atlantic, quite indicative about what he would bring as the President.

Immediately after his inauguration, Biden took initiatives to re-establish Transatlantic ties. He took efforts restoring US-EU relations to normal, by re-establishing America’s European vision, cancelling out the sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is a daring step itself, and through efforts of solidarity during the pandemic in the form of vaccine diplomacy. 

Clearly, Biden aspires to mend American Foreign Policy through restoration of traditional alliances and strengthening ties with the international community. By focusing on the revival of the NATO, he desires to make it an integral part of American Foreign Policy, something that would help America continue to blossom, and maintain its unipolar status, at a time when it is facing several challenges, both externally, like Chinese assertiveness and instances of Russian aggression, as well as internally, like the pandemic and disgraceful events such as George Floyd’s Murder and the resultant Pan American ‘Black Lives Matter’ Movement. And while the challenges faced by what is, arguably, still the world’s most powerful nation, are in plenty, Biden firmly believes that the revival of NATO can help America shrug off what him and many Americans now consider to be USA’s biggest threat since the days of the USSR, i.e., the challenge posed by China.

Events, Aspirations, Happenings, Aspirations and Obstacles 

The NATO Summit: Addressing the Chinese and Russian Threats 

In the recently concluded NATO summit at Brussels on 14th June, a plan was chalked to strengthen the Alliance’s Unity, broaden its approach to security and contribute to safeguarding the rules-based international order, and the need for democracy to rightfully win over anarchy. But it is important to note that in this meeting, China and Russia were called the ‘main threats’ to the rules-based international order, which included Russia’s pattern of aggressive intents, terrorism, cyber-attacks, and disruptive technologies, as well as the unprecedented rise and assertiveness of China. Other issues, such as security implications of climate change, human security, and development, were all window-dressers, more of something worth being discussed in G7 summits. The real essence of the Summit, clearly, was that of a cold war in the making.

For US’ Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, China provides America its ‘number one pacing challenge’. Many lawmakers, mostly the Republicans, consider it to be the ‘New Soviet Union,’ although it is not, despite posing a completely new geopolitical puzzle. Washington firmly believes China to be a determined Asian hegemon insisting that it contains its rise before it becomes a challenging world power, and for this, it requires the NATO, which designated China as a ‘systematic challenge’ for the first time on 14th June. Then, there has always been the Russian problem and the cybersecurity threats it is posing to America in the form of Ransomware attacks on American firms. Biden believed that the NATO meeting would rally the alliance behind Russia before his June 16 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, knowing all too well that China would watch closely. He has sternly warned that these attacks can end up to a ‘real shooting war’ with a major power.

Subsequently, powerful military-industrial security interests have revived. The Pentagon is ready to make new deployments, and a new array of weapons to counter growing Chinese assertiveness. NATO has, in its hands, a revived mission, a mission to address a threat to American power, once again. Washington considers it to be vital for US and its NATO allies to invest in a plethora of weapons in every domain of warfare, including cyber, and in every region, ranging from the borders of Russia to the Great China Sea. The US also has in mind the idea of expanding the NATO to Ukraine and Georgia or for extending its force projection in the future. This is something that Kremlin, and may be even Beijing, will not at all take lightly, and can call for serious repercussions with regards to global security. 

The New Atlantic Charter and the Beginning of the New Age

Perhaps the signal of the beginning of this new age of competition is given through the New Atlantic Charter. This document, signed on the sides of the G7 Summit at Cornwall, UK, between Biden and Boris Johnson, reaffirms the joint commitment of the US and the UK towards a range of issues. This takes us back to the original Atlantic Charter, which set out American and British goals in the post-World War 2 period.  Very notably, the Soviet Union was ignored from the talks back then, despite being allies at that point of time. This feeling of alienation, many say, ended up being one of the many reasons behind the advent of the cold war period. 

For US, the New Charter goes on to reaffirm its role as a supporter of European security and democratic values, and for the UK, it elevates the island’s longstanding relationship with the US, seemingly unaffected by Brexit and any disunions in the future.  The symbolic nature of the New Charter requires emphasis here, as it functions as yet another Atlantic Charter to provide a perquisite to some sort of a changing world order, and perhaps, another cold war. Notice the recent breaches of Russian territorial waters by UK, and also the latter’s aircraft carrier deployment in South China Sea. Questions regarding UK’s behaviour as America’s pawn clearly arise after such events.  

NATO beyond the North Atlantic?

To counter Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, there might just arise a need to expand NATO beyond its traditional boundaries, to Asia. Keeping this in mind, Biden orchestrated the first ever Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. Commonly known as the ‘Quad’, this is very much the first step towards an ‘Asian NATO.’ The return of the mirror-image syndrome is vivid, once again, through these events. China’s movements are countered in a similar manner by the US. Chinese BRI is being opposed by the Quad, and the Chinese vaccine diplomacy with a ‘Quad Vaccine Partnership.’ Finally, this reminds us of the other regional alliances spearheaded by US in the 20th Century, such as the South-East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) and the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO).  It seems likely that in the future, this ‘Asian NATO,’ comprising of US and the other Quadrilateral powers, i.e., India, Australia, and Japan, may end up being a reality for answering China’s ambitious moves in the region.

Other Challenges

There is a string of other challenges which the NATO will face on course of its revival under the Biden administration. A definite challenge comes from Turkey, which happens to be one of those troubling alliance members in the NATO. Turkey has significantly distanced from the US since the failed coup attempt of 2016, which was believed to be chalked by America. Ever since then, things have not been good. Decisions such as buying Russian Air defense systems and incursion into Syria strained relations further. Besides, Erdogan endorses Neo-Ottoman aspirations, and in many ways, Turkey’s actions under him have clearly been assisting Russia. There also is the border dispute between Turkey and Greece, two NATO members, which needs to be quickly resolved. In short, Turkey is a difficult thing for US to handle, but it must do so cautiously, as Turkey has the potential to play a crucial part in US’ ambitions in a very strategic location, for instance the Black Sea.

Besides these, the NATO and its mastermind are bound to face an array of other challenges. 

• Firstly, while the NATO has been a loyal alliance for long, it has often been marred with disagreements of various sorts between the members. This time out, the Biden-led renaissance must ensure that there is more to agree than to disagree between the NATO states. 
• Moving on, NATO’s aspirations to include Ukraine and Georgia into it, as mentioned before, and its possible effects, must be thought of before agreed upon. Hence, while expansion is good, it is sometimes better to have closed doors. 
• For the US, particularly, certain decisions like lifting off the sanctions on any participant in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project between Germany and Russia can backfire. Biden’s decision to let the sanctions go, reversing the policy of its predecessors perhaps seeking to strengthen transatlantic ties, can indeed end up being helpful to Kremlin. This has the potential to damage American interests. 
• Then there comes the problem of scepticism, which has risen significantly amongst the European nations especially during Trump’s presidency. Many NATO members are wary of relying too much on USA. The Europeans will demand greater parity and lobby Washington to act less unilaterally as it did under Trump or when the Biden administration decided on withdrawal from Afghanistan with virtually no real consultation until the last minute. For its part, Washington will continue to insist that Europe must pay for a greater say in NATO and show greater commitment to their collective security. But whatever it is, US must act to re-establish this trust.  
• With regards to China, Most of Europe still sees it as an economic rival in a multipolar set-up, unlike the US. Hence, the Biden administration must charm and bully its divided but prosperous European partners into getting behind it 
• In terms of Democracy’s victory over Authoritarianism, that should always be the case. However, the real victory of democracy should always come from within. America, recently, has witnessed a series of problems to democratic and free order itself. Asian people are often being targeted as they are believed to be ‘Chinese,’ and hence enemies. These issues must be addressed with urgency, and projecting China as the main enemy can fuel them. A renewed Cold War is bound to reinforce the nationalist and militarist factions among all the adversaries

Conclusion: What the Future Should Hold 

In terms of NATO, it has always had problems throughout the course of its seven decades of existence, but it has always risen to meet them, and it will again this time, under a leader who views the alliance as fundamental to American foreign policy. This time, it must put more emphasis on internal political cohesion and cooperation. With regards to China, US clearly feels insecure by its rise, and wants to use NATO to maintain its global supremacy in an unchallenged manner, even though it is highly unlikely that China would go on to become a superpower, considering many factors, such as the recent dip of birth rates, and its lack of promotion of an alternative vision of the world despite having enormous economic power and strategic desires. But the costs of going back to the Cold War are enormous. It also confuses the true nature of the security dangers we confront. For example, climate change is no longer a distant concern. Without China, which currently leads the world in fossil fuel emissions, no progress can be made. Climate change can no longer be reduced to a rhetorical concern at the conclusion of texts focusing on military build-ups and great power wars in periphery nations. As a result, any mention of the Cold War should be avoided at all costs. Engagement must take precedence over confrontation. All parties concerned, including Biden, must be cautious about what they desire. The contemporary world requires togetherness to address real and ‘non-traditional’ security issues instead of creating another era of uncertainty.

Sagnik Sarkar,

Intern, Asia in Global Affairs

 

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