The Post-American Posture: A ‘NATO First’ Imperative for the UK and Europe

The Post-American Posture: A ‘NATO First’ Imperative for the UK and Europe

01 Jul 26
Posted by: RAdm Tim Henry
13 minutes, 23 seconds read
Message from the Editor

By the time you read this in the hardcopy, the NATO Summit in Ankara will have taken place. However, this article by the Naval Review’s Chairman gives a clear indication, and a warning, of the general direction in which the United States wishes to steer the Alliance. A 15 minute read.

The June 2026 NATO Defence Ministerial in Brussels will likely be remembered as the moment the ‘long 20th century’ finally ended for European security. In his seminal work, historian Giovanni Arrighi described the ‘long’ century not by the calendar, but by the rise and peak of a specific global hegemony. For Arrighi, this was an era defined by the expansion of American power and the security architecture it underpinned. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s announcement of an accelerated downsizing of American forces in Europe serves as the definitive full stop to that era. The American position…

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