The New Administration and the NATO Alliance

Posted: January 18th, 2017

By Admiral James Stavridis (Ret.)

Admiral Stavridis (Ret.) was the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he earned a PhD in international affairs. He is currently Vice Chair, Global Affairs and Managing Director at The Carlyle Group and Chair of the Board of the Rockefeller Foundation.

The start of a new U.S. administration, elections across Europe in 2017 that could drastically alter politics on the continent, and an increase in the number and kinds of external threats facing the world over the past few years rattle the NATO transatlantic defense alliance. Add to that President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric about not standing up for NATO partners unless they start spending more on their own defense, and the future of the alliance seems questionable. The Cipher Brief’s Kaitlin Lavinder spoke with Admiral James Stavridis, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander from 2009-2013 and Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University, about his thoughts on NATO’s future and the incoming administration’s policies toward the transatlantic partnership.

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