Emmanuel Macron\u2019s recent interview in the Economist stirred controversy when he declared NATO as \u201cbrain-dead\u201d as America \u201cturns its back on the European project\u201d. Regardless of whether one agrees with his assessment, Macron has sparked an important conversation about the future of NATO\u2019s leadership, and more strategic foreign policy from NATO’s member states.<\/p>\n
If NATO is lacking strategic focus, it is primarily because its members are struggling with the same lack of direction when it comes to foreign policy. The UK, the US, and the EU are all facing similar challenges, which make it harder for them to take a leading role in ensuring NATO\u2019s mission and purpose remains relevant in the years to come.<\/span><\/p>\n Under Donald Trump, the United States has pursued an erratic foreign policy, flip-flopping between positions to a varying degree of success. On November 15<\/span>th<\/span> Trump <\/span>tweeted<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThe US now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy \u2026 it is called, quite simply, America First!\u201d.\u00a0 But this is not a strategy; at best it is an objective, at worst an empty slogan.<\/span><\/p>\n In Syria, Trump recently ordered the retreat of US troops, causing a<\/span> huge media stir<\/span><\/a>, but shortly after discreetly sent additional troops back in. Even some of these regular features of his foreign policy\u2014unpredictability and disengagement\u2014fail to offer much strategic coherence.<\/span><\/p>\n If the confusion around US foreign policy sounds familiar to the confusion in the UK, it is because we too have been caught in a trap of foreign policy by slogan rather than strategy. Back in March 2018 <\/span>I wrote about the dangers of not backing up the foreign policy strapline \u201cGlobal Britain\u201d with substantial strategy<\/span><\/a>. And whilst the government has brought out new, significant policies (<\/span>Fusion Doctrine<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>FCO\u2019s Africa Strategy<\/span><\/a>, and a Soft Power strategy in the works), the top-level strategy to explain the UK\u2019s role in the world post-Brexit is still lacking.<\/span><\/p>\n Sure, Brexit has taken over so much political bandwidth, but that doesn\u2019t make the need for a strategy any less important.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What next?<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBrain-dead\u201d suggests a need to resuscitate rather than implying NATO is actually \u201cdead\u201d. This is an important distinction.\u00a0 In this power vacuum and strategic void, there is also opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\n