Trump Administration Releases National Security Strategy Demanding NATO Allies Spend 5% of GDP on Defense

On December 6, 2025, the Trump administration released a 35-page National Security Strategy that fundamentally reoriented American foreign policy after eight decades of transatlantic security commitments. The document demanded that NATO member states allocate 5 percent of their GDP to military spending—more than double the alliance's longstanding 2 percent benchmark—and introduced a conditional security framework wherein full U.S. defense guarantees under Article 5 would apply only to nations meeting the heightened expenditure requirement. This approach, characterized by analysts as creating a "two-tier NATO," represented a departure from the collective defense principle that has anchored the alliance since its 1949 founding. The strategy articulated several core principles distinguishing Trump administration policy from prior approaches. It rejected what the document termed post-Cold War assumptions of permanent American global dominance, instead prioritizing narrowly defined national interests, burden-shifting to wealthy allies, and "flexible realism" in engaging nations regardless of their governance systems. Economic security received explicit designation as fundamental to national security, with the strategy calling for balanced trade relationships, American economic reindustrialization, and supply chain protection from foreign dependency. The document stated that European nations must address threats of "civilizational erasure" stemming from migration policies and declining birthrates, endorsing alignment with what it described as "patriotic European parties"—language analysts interpreted as supporting right-wing populist movements across the continent. Charles Kupchan, former National Security Council official now at Georgetown University, characterized the strategy as unprecedented in its explicitness, noting its official White House imprimatur made the positions difficult for traditional European allies to accept. Timothy Snyder, a scholar specializing in authoritarianism, observed linguistic parallels between the American document and Russian strategic rhetoric, particularly regarding characterizations of European weakness and elite disconnection from popular sentiment. The strategy outlined regional approaches extending beyond Europe: for the Western Hemisphere, it proclaimed a "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine asserting American preeminence and opposing foreign military presence; for Asia, it emphasized economic competition with China through tariffs while maintaining military deterrence along the First Island Chain; for the Middle East, it called for regional partners to assume greater security responsibilities, permitting reduced American focus on that theater. European leaders largely refrained from direct public criticism of the document. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas emphasized continued alliance despite the strategy's confrontational tone, stating the United States remained Europe's "biggest ally." Eastern European nations including Poland and the Baltic states—which already meet or exceed NATO spending targets due to proximity to Russia—reaffirmed their commitment to defense investment. Analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies characterized the strategy as inaugurating a "post-American age" for Europe, arguing that its explicit conditioning of security guarantees would compel European nations to pursue independent strategic courses while attempting to maintain American engagement through concessions on trade and technology regulation. The document's release intensified ongoing European debates about strategic autonomy, with initiatives such as Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) gaining renewed attention as potential frameworks for reducing dependence on American military capabilities.