NATO Burdensharing after Enlargement
Abstract
Since 1949, the United States has committed itself to defending its European allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). But some Members of Congress have questioned whether this country has borne an unfair share of the burden of the common defense. Over the past 50 years, the United States has maintained as many as 300,000 military personnel in Europe and has consistently devoted more of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defense than have most of its allies. With the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet threat, the United States cut its force presence in Europe to about 100,000 and sharply reduced its defense budget. But the European allies have also cut their defense spending over the past decade, leaving the United States still bearing the largest financial burden among the NATO allies. The question of burdensharing gained renewed prominence in the late 1990s as the Senate debated whether to admit three Central European democracies to NATO. Senators on both sides of that debate were concerned that the United States not bear an unfair share of the costs of enlargement. But the burdensharing issue is not a new one. It dates back to the first days of the alliance, when the United States agreed to provide economic and military aid to the countries of Western Europe to help them rebuild after World War II and to station troops in Europe to defend those nations. As Europe grew more prosperous, the Congress increased its calls for the Europeans to provide a greater share of their own defense. This report examines burdensharing among the allies within the context of NATO's post-Cold War mission. It considers various measures of burdensharing, such as defense spending as a proportion of GDP, defense spending per capita, the proportion of the labor force in the military, contributions to NATO's rapid reaction forces, contributions to peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Kosovo, and economic assistance to Central and Eastern Europe.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA452609
Entities
People
- John J. Lis
- Zachary Selden
Organizations
- Congressional Budget Office