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Six months in, Russia’s war on Ukraine has prompted unprecedented unity among the transatlantic allies. This cohesion has been admirable, but it should not be taken for granted. The crisis is also an opportunity to upgrade the transatlantic architecture—since it is unlikely that the current cohesion will endure unless consolidated institutionally. The energy to carry through long-needed upgrades may have finally materialized, but it will take transatlantic leadership to step back from crisis management and see this effort through to fruition.

At the start of the Cold War, officials on both sides of the Atlantic used the crisis as a catalyst to develop joint organizations that, in turn, perpetuated the spirit of transatlantic cooperation. They created a strong NATO, institutionalizing strategic unity across the Atlantic. They formed the Atlantic Treaty Association to build grassroots support for an Atlantic community overall, but for the Alliance in particular. Atlantic-Pacific alliances followed, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Group of Seven (G7) nations, in line with Article 2 of the NATO Treaty calling for additional steps to strengthen allied economic and political cooperation and safeguard “peaceful and friendly international relations.” The crisis of that time was not allowed to go to waste.

Today, Atlantic leaders should treat the current war in Ukraine—the greatest crisis in European security since the end of the Cold War—as a similar opportunity to upgrade institutional capabilities. The fact that efforts to deter the war failed demonstrates an urgent need to study the shortfalls of existing institutions, improve them, and redefine the way they interact to better fit an increasingly challenging security environment. 

While the unprecedented sanctions and NATO’s new Strategic Concept both show strong resolve, questions remain in Atlantic circles about whether the allies have the staying power to follow through on these over the longer term. This will require tangible actions to strengthen the institutional capacities for maintaining cooperation. Transatlantic leaders must do the most institutional enhancement they can get done in this crisis—not the least they can get away with.

Anyone who cares about the future of the Alliance should use this opportunity to think about specific improvements and implement them. To start, here are several ideas for moving the alliance system forward, starting with the easiest and working upward:

One of the more promising developments in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s war on Ukraine was the increased collaboration among the traditional Atlantic institutions. This was most apparent in June, with the G7 and NATO summits happening in close succession and with overlapping agendas. Going forward, the G7 is well-positioned to spearhead increased linkages among the Atlantic institutions. It has already invited representatives from NATO to its recent crisis meetings; it can now add NATO to its standard invitation list. 

In the face of malign Chinese and Russian uses of their economic influence and the growing policy focus of its major members on supply chains and sanctions, the OECD may find that it needs to do more on economic aspects of security. A more continuous NATO-OECD dialogue would be helpful here; the OECD could establish a liaison office at NATO, and vice versa. Fortuitously, a regular OECD-NATO link would also provide an additional channel for NATO to engage with its Pacific partners.

With the G7 already receiving OECD input to its working groups, this closer networking of the three main bodies of the Atlantic-Pacific family of institutions—NATO, OECD, and the G7—would be a healthy step forward for the international system.

Atlantic institutions have always filled in for global institutions when the latter fall short, as they inevitably sometimes will because of large and diverse memberships that make agreement at scale around divisive issues impossible. 

The “outer” global institutions—the United Nations (UN), World Health Organization (WHO), the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the World Trade Organization—serve an invaluable purpose nonetheless: Engaging all countries on common global needs. The transatlantic community should temper its expectation of these organizations and accept their limitations, using parallel “inner” organizations to take actions where necessary. NATO itself contributed to preserving the UN during the Cold War, taking action to stabilize Europe when Russian membership on the UN Security Council made it impossible for the UN to play that role—a development that prevented the UN from collapsing like the League of Nations. 

New Atlantic-rooted functional institutions can do likewise to supplement and sometimes save global ones across several spheres:

At the heart of the Atlantic institutions is NATO, whose energy has been rekindled and revalidated in light of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. The June NATO Summit in Madrid saw unparalleled unity that met the moment, including formal invitations for Finland and Sweden to become members, a broadened focus on issues like China and climate, and a revised approach to deterrence of Russia. 

This impressive agenda is instructive about the need for other reforms that will make accomplishing the Madrid blueprint easier:

The system of Western alliances is vibrant at the moment—yet it is in an existential crisis as it is aggressively tested by Russia’s war on Ukraine and China’s threats against Taiwan. It has shown magnificent unity in castigating Russia, but must honestly assess the gaps in its institutions and persistent resulting risks and strains. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression generated a wave of transatlantic cooperation—but also showed why this wave must be built upon before it subsides. “We have to seize this transatlantic moment,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on August 2. “We have to use it to build a stronger, irreversible transatlantic partnership.” It is this generation’s opportunity to do what it needs to do for the long run.  

Ira Straus is a foreign-affairs analyst and chair of the Center for War/Peace Studies, and a Councilor of the Atlantic Council. He was a Fulbright professor of international relations in Moscow in 1997-98 and 2001-02. 

New Atlanticist By John Manza

NATO can't afford to expend precious resources in places that don’t matter to its core interests—lest the Alliance risk losing future conflicts in places that really do.

New Atlanticist By Hans Binnendijk, Timo S. Koster

NATO should be proud of its recent accomplishments—but now it needs to follow through.

Markup By Atlantic Council experts

What were the allies really saying amid all the jargon? And what did they leave out? Our experts carefully combed through the document and dropped their insights in the margins.

Image: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is briefed with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly after arriving in the Arctic community of Cambridge Bay in Nunavut, Canada August 25, 2022. Photo by Adam Scotti/Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERS

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