Drawing Red Lines In Gray Areas: Deterring Russia's Challenge To Transatlantic Security Today

Martin Michelot in his new policy paper regarding the security and defense policy analyses the NATO-Russia relations.

Our Martin Michelot together with Steven Keil published their new policy paper titled "Drawing Red Lines In Gray Areas: Deterring Russia's Challenge To Transatlantic Security Today​". The policy paper examines the Russian foreign policy mainly towards the North Atlantic Alliance and their mutual relations.

Russia is threatening the pillars of European and transatlantic security in order to better assert itself in its near abroad and protect its core interests. With the 2014 invasion of Ukraine, illegal annexation of Crimea, and sustained destabilization of the Donbas by Russian-backed forces, Russia has demonstrated a brazen willingness to actively disrupt the geopolitical status quo. In the last few years, Russia’s challenge to the international system and transatlantic securityarchitecture has reached unprecedented levels in the post-Cold War era. The Kremlin’s actions in Ukraine, combined with the 2008 Russo-Georgian War and other coercive measures, clearly demonstrate that the Putin regime is prepared to undermine the sovereignty and free will of post-Soviet states to divert them from a path of Euro-Atlantic integration.

Among the foremost important tasks for transatlantic security is to retrace the lines of traditional European and transatlantic security — namely collective defense within the NATO Alliance. Since 2014, this has been the primary focus of transatlantic security discussions. Both the Wales and Warsaw NATO Summits.

As nations, as well as institutions such as NATO and the EU, look to address the full-spectrum challenge posed by Russia, identifying key priorities
and developing clear red lines will be crucial. It goes without saying that conventional capabilities remain a cornerstone and Article 5 the bedrock
for NATO members. By reconciling the varying priorities among Allies, addressing the capabilities gap in Europe, and looking at the future role of a strategic nuclear deterrent force vis-à-vis Russia, the transatlantic deterrent will only grow more credible. 

The full version is available through the PDF button on the right side of the article.

Martin Michelot
Senior Associate Research Fellow

Expertise: NATO and transatlantic security, European foreign policy and defense, French politics, elections and society, Visegrad Four and Central Europe, EU institutional issues