Publication

Ever since Donald Trump’s inauguration, European governments have been wringing their hands over the US’ commitment to their collective security. So, in order to protect their own interests should European states create an independent nuclear deterrent of their own? Not according to this brief’s author. As he sees it, 1) neither NATO nor the EU would be able to provide the necessary political and military framework for ‘nuclear sharing’ in Europe, and 2) European countries would have a very hard time convincing their populations that they needed to replace US extended deterrence with their own. The smart move, the author concludes, is to wait and see if Trump’s successor will be as ideologically hostile to transatlantic security cooperation as he seemingly is.