Research On The US-Europe NATO Defense Responsibility Dispute And Its Impact Under Trump

The issue of defense burden-sharing has been running through the relationship between the United States and European member states since the establishment of NATO,from which we can see the essence of the relationship.After trump took office,the NATO's defense burden-sharing dispute became more intense than before,which has exerted a great impact on the alliance and the U.S.-European Relations.NATO and U.S.-European relations have a great influence on today's world situation,which is an issue worthy of attention.The Dispute of NATO defense burden-sharing among the United States and its European allies has different characteristics in different historical periods.During the Cold War,under the strategic goal of jointly resisting Soviet Union,the alliance between the United States and Europe is firm,and there were few differences on the issue of NATO defense burden-sharing.At the early period of the post-Cold War,the NATO defense burden-sharing between the United States and Europe began to emerge.During this period,the two sides began to fall into the dilemma of "being abandoned" and "being implicated".However,due to the threat of the Soviet Union no longer exists and the simultaneous reduction of military expenditure and military forces both in the United States and Europe,the differences were generally eased.Since entering the 21 st century,with the change of NATO's function and orientation and the decline of the United States' own strength,this issue has begun to escalate.The United States criticized Europe more and more,and the United States and Europe were unwilling to assume their due obligations as allies in the war launched or led by the other side.However,by the end of President Obama's term of office,the two sides mainly quarreled verbally on the issue of defense burden-sharing,which did not affect the overall situation of the alliance.During Trump's administration,the contradiction of NATO defense burdensharing was further highlighted.Since taking office as president,Trump has repeatedly challenged NATO's allies on the issue of defense spending,deepening disagreements with European Allies.He publicly criticized Europe's low defense spending and repeatedly accused the allies of making the United States pay an unfair defense costs,believing that this is neither fair nor acceptable.Trump strongly pushed European allies to increase defense budget investment,and even warned that the United States had lost patience with their failure to fulfill their obligations.The contradiction on the NATO defense burden-sharing has become more acute,which has new characteristics compared with the past.First of all,the focus of the debate has changed,from military resources,human contribution and moral support for each other's participation in military operations to constant discord in military spending and anti-terrorism investment.Secondly,the way that the United States urges its allies to enhance their defense contribution has changed from "positive persuasion" to "negative coercion" such as threats and sanctions.Although the dispute between the United States and Europe over NATO's defense burden-sharing intensified during Trump administration,it did not lead to the dissolution of NATO.NATO is still expanding eastward,and its function and role are still strengthening,which shows that European Member States still rely on NATO and the United States in terms of security,and the United States also needs NATO to maintain its presence in Europe.Russia plays an important role.With Russia achieving stability and development and Putin pursuing the strategy of great power,the United States and its European Allies still consider Russia as the main threat to their security,especially after the crisis in Ukraine.The Russian factor has become the key to unite NATO members.Multiple official documents released during Trump's presidency show that the US continues to regard Russia as an important competitor.Most European countries,especially the Central and Eastern European countries in NATO,still have serious feelings of Russophobia,suspicion and even hatred towards Russia.The situation that the United States and Europe have the same overall stance on Russia has not been reversed.In the face of the Trump administration's extreme pressure policy,the response of European allies is limited to meet the requirements of the United States to a certain extent.They realize that they can no longer rely on the United States for security protection,and they are more willing to build an independent defense.However,most NATO European member states have actually increased their defense spending,indicating that it hopes to continue to get the security protection of the United States.Although trump has a lot of criticism on NATO,he also knows that NATO is still of great strategic value to the United States,and the Trump administration has adopted many policies to support NATO.The aggravation of NATO defense burden-sharing during the Trump administration reflects new changes are taking place in the relations between the United States and Europe.First of all,the consensus between the United States and Europe has been reduced,mutual trust has been reduced,and the rift has been deepened.As a result,the relationship between the United States and its European allies has been greatly impacted.Secondly,NATO defense burden-sharing dispute also affects the relations between European countries,divisions among NATO European members have widened.The divergence of views between the new Central and Eastern European countries and the old members of NATO are even more serious,and the old members also differed in their attitudes towards the future of European security and defense.Since Biden was elected as the new president of the United States,the dispute on NATO's defense burden-sharing will be eased to a certain extent,but it will still exist for a long time.It can be predicted that the transatlantic relations will gradually reverse,but it is difficult to return to the past.