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NATO's chances of garnering support from peace researchers are no longer perceived as viable.

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Allied forces maintain joint exercises in Northern Macedonia, demonstrating their ongoing unity.
Allied forces maintain joint exercises in Northern Macedonia, demonstrating their ongoing unity.

"Authoritarian USA" Puts NATO's Future at Risk, German Peace Experts Warn

NATO's chances of garnering support from peace researchers are no longer perceived as viable.

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Peace on the wane: "The world's peace is bracing itself for a rough ride," according to leading peace and conflict experts. In their eyes, it ain't just the Kremlin stirring up trouble.

German peace and conflict experts are urging the government to prepare for a post-NATO future due to the current political climate in the United States. With an "ever-more nationalistic" US administration and potential territorial claims against allies, NATO's future is bleak, according to Christopher Daase of the Leibniz Institute for Peace Research.

Politics Donald Trump: Turning the Oldest Democracy into an Authoritarian Regime The developments in the USA since Trump took office in January have drawn heavy criticism from Daase, who spoke at the launch of the 2025 peace report. In his view, Trump and his MAGA movement have managed to "transform the world's oldest democracy into an authoritarian regime in record time with little resistance." The USA is now just another source of insecurity. He added, "The transatlantic partnership, as we used to know it, is dead and buried."

Germany and Europe are "directly under fire" from the authoritarian regime changes in the USA. Although NATO is currently indispensable in the face of Russia, Europe must become more self-reliant and perhaps even defend itself against the US in the long term.

"The European Union needs to establish strategies to ensure its defense can be maintained independently of the US in the long term," the scientists demand. That means addressing gaps in military capabilities, Europeanizing arms production, and building common defense structures. Simultaneously, arms control and diplomatic initiatives need to prevent conflicts from escalating.

Politics Airbases in the Crosshairs: Kriewald on Readiness ## "Peace Is in a Grave Condition"

"Peace is in a sorry state these days. The concept of peace seems to have run its course with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine," the researchers write. The global conflict situation has escalated in recent years, leading to over 122 million people being displaced by war and violence. The war in Gaza claimed more than 53,000 lives and left the area in ruins.

The peace experts recommend the German government a "transparent, step-by-step plan for strengthening and integrating European defense structures" in the report. For example, PESCO and joint EU missions could be strengthened.

Politics Zelenskyy on RTL Direct: "It's a Huge Monster that Attacked Us" Armament isn't the be-all and end-all of security, says Daase further. Options such as negotiations for arms control treated during the Cold War could be worth revisiting.

Middle East: A Call for Peace The researchers are begging for a stop to all arms exports that could be used in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Israel has been found to have "blatantly" violated international humanitarian law and overstepped the bounds of "legitimate self-defense." The researchers are calling on Germany to prioritize international law: "International law takes priority over national interests. This currently means a state visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanjahu to Germany is out of the question."

Building a Peaceful Future Fundamentally, Germany should work towards the creation of a Palestinian state in the medium term, the researchers asserted. The peace solution for Palestine, in no way hinders "Israel's right to a Jewish state with secure borders," said Daase.

The peace report is an annual publication by the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC), the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) of the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Leibniz Institute for Peace Research and Conflict Resolution (PRIF), and the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) at the University of Hamburg. It has been in circulation since 1987.

Source: ntv.de, gho/AFP/dpa

  • NATO
  • USA
  • Wars and Conflicts
  • Weapons Exports
  • Middle East Peace Talks
  1. The German peace and conflict experts warn that the authoritarian policy (specifically referring to the USA) poses a potential risk to NATO's future, citing an increasingly nationalistic US administration and the possibility of territorial claims against allies.
  2. In the midst of escalating wars and conflicts globally, the peace report recommends a halt to arms exports that could be used in regions such as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, advocating for the priority of international law over national interests.

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