NATO is celebrating its 75th birthday with a high-stakes summit

Dozens of world leaders are converging on Washington, DC, today for the start of a NATO summit commemorating the military alliance’s 75th anniversary.

The three-day summit comes as NATO, which recently expanded to 32 countries with the additions of Finland and Sweden, is facing several potential threats from both outside and within.

Electoral changes in member states: The French government is facing uncertainty as the country’s right-leaning coalition – which is skeptical of NATO – increased the number of seats it holds by 63% in recent parliamentary elections.

• Additionally, many NATO members have expressed concern that former President Trump could return to the White House and reduce US commitments to NATO, shrinking the involvement of the alliance’s most powerful member.

The Ukraine situation: Ukraine has a stated goal of joining NATO, placing it under the alliance’s collective security umbrella (Article 5) that obligates other members to come to its defense if attacked.

• However, while the military alliance is committed to adding Ukraine, NATO members have thus far remained firm on the caveat that Kyiv won’t become a member until its war with Russia is concluded.

China is still a threat, too. NATO members plan to use the summit as an opportunity to focus on China’s recent inflammatory actions, including a series of disinformation campaigns aimed at spreading doubt in democratic systems and military aggression in the South China Sea.

👀 Looking ahead… The summit will conclude with a news conference from President Biden on Thursday.