In his op-ed titled “Is NATO Still Protecting Us?” featured in Die Tagespost, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie examines the current pressures facing the North Atlantic Alliance. While traditional debates over defense spending and operational participation have long existed, Schlie warns that today’s shift in “weights between Europe and America” threatens the very cohesion of the alliance. He emphasizes that these tensions are not only transatlantic, but also continental—requiring deeper coordination and shared will among European states. Europe’s failure to meaningfully engage in burden-sharing, he cautions, risks eroding NATO’s military credibility and political coherence. For Schlie, the message is clear: NATO remains an indispensable security architecture only if Europe moves beyond rhetoric and actively demonstrates commitment. In the face of unpredictable global threats, the durability of the alliance depends on Europe’s readiness to contribute—not just demand more from others.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie at Die Tagespost: Is NATO Still Protecting Us? Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie at Die Tagespost: Is NATO Still Protecting Us?
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie, Professor of Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Bonn, evaluates how shifting power dynamics between the U.S. and Europe are challenging NATO ahead of its upcoming summit—and why Europe must step up its burden-sharing.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie at Die Tagespost: Is NATO Still Protecting Us?
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Ulrich Schlie is a historian, political scientist and, since 2020, Director of the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS) and Henry Kissinger Professor for Security and Strategy Research at the Institute for Political Science at the University of Bonn. He currently holds a Joint Research Professorship at the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.