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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
Euro-Atlantic SecurityDefenceEuropeForeign policyMilitary DoctrineNATORussia-West RelationsSecurityTransatlantic relationsUnited StatesELN
Commentary

The unforeseen consequences of the NATO Ankara summit

Despite the success of the Ankara summit, the US is gradually decoupling itself from Europe in ways that will have profound consequences for European security and strategic stability. As ELN Senior Associate Fellow Nicholas Williams writes, NATO will not collapse in a single dramatic moment; it is slowly changing into something less able to perform its central task.

16 July 2026 | Nicholas Williams
Euro-Atlantic SecurityDefenceDeterrenceEuropeForeign policyNATONuclear SecurityRussiaUkraineUnited StatesELNSenior Associate Fellow
Commentary

The death of the ‘global cop’: why NATO’s Ankara summit is burying out-of-area operations

What are the consequences stemming from the seeming end of NATO’s global role? ELN Senior Associate Fellow Nicholas Williams looks back at two decades of NATO’s “out-of-area operations”, arguing that foreign crisis management missions have become strategic liabilities rather than assets, exposing European troops to global conflicts while doing little to enhance European security.

30 June 2026 | Nicholas Williams
Euro-Atlantic SecurityAfghanistanDefenceEuropeForeign policyMiddle EastNATOSecurityTransatlantic relationsELNSenior Associate Fellow
Policy brief

The challenge of Russian dual-capable missiles

In a new policy brief, ELN Senior Associate Fellows Simon Lunn and Nicholas Williams examine the dual-capable nature of Russia’s medium and short-range missiles, and their implications for NATO’s strategy. Acknowledging the relationship between the nuclear and conventional dimensions, and in the context of Putin’s menacing references to Russia’s nuclear weapons, it looks at the impact on NATO strategy at both levels.

17 July 2024 | Simon Lunn (1941-2026) and Nicholas Williams
Russia-West relationsArms ControlConventional Arms ControlDefenceDeterrenceEastern EuropeEuropeINFMilitary DoctrineMissilesNATONuclear Arms ControlNuclear SecurityRisk ReductionRussiaRussia-West RelationsSecurityUkraineWMDsSenior Associate Fellow
Policy brief

NATO’s revival of collective defence and the challenge of national commitments

As leaders gather in Washington for a three day summit to mark NATO’s 75th anniversary, ELN Senior Associate Fellows Nicholas Williams and Simon Lunn analyse the re-emergence of collective defence as a priority within the alliance, and what it means for national governments. The paper argues that NATO’s regional plans should be the subject of parliamentary scrutiny by individual national parliaments to ensure that national commitments to NATO are consistent with the resources and political aims of their respective countries.

9 July 2024 | Nicholas Williams and Simon Lunn (1941-2026)
Baltic SeaBlack SeaCentral EuropeDefenceDemocracyDeterrenceEastern EuropeEconomyEUEuropeForeign policyMilitary DoctrineNATONuclear SecurityNuclear WeaponsRisk ReductionRussiaRussia-West RelationsSecurityUkraineSenior Associate Fellow