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Michael Benhamou

Co-director, OPEWI

Michael Benhamou is co-director of European defence consultancy OPEWI – Europe’s War Institute. Previously, he was a political adviser to French, EU, and NATO operational commanders across land, maritime, and air components in Kosovo, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf (GCC), Libya, Lyon Air Base, and the Indian Ocean, including aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

Content by Michael Benhamou

Commentary

Redesigning NATO through European rotations

Thanks to Donald Trump’s bullying, concepts of a “European pillar” and “European Army” are slowly dying their logical death, making way for a more productive “European NATO” future. But what kind of structure would this entail? As Nicholas Williams and Michael Benhamou write, what Europe needs is a rotational strategic command, below which would sit more decentralised tactical commands that address concrete threats instead of serving Cold War bureaucratic habits.

3 September 2026 | Nicholas Williams and Michael Benhamou