Multi-domain Deterrence and the NATO’s Summit in Brussels
Brad Roberts and Jacek Durkalec

July 9, 2018

The NATO Summit in Brussels on 11 and 12 July 2018 will be an opportunity for the United States and its Allies to take stock of their accomplishments and take additional steps to bolster NATO deterrence and defense. While the NATO allies in recent years have made progress in adapting to Russia’s challenge, it is too soon to declare victory. Important gaps in the Alliance’s deterrence and defense posture remain. Apart from investing in military hardware, the Alliance needs to develop a comprehensive deterrence strategy toward Russia. The NATO allies must also react to the nuclear policy and posture choices of the Trump administration outlined in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. This could be an opportunity for the NATO allies to come to terms with the changed nuclear landscape in Europe, and for defining the role of nuclear weapons as an integral element of a multi-domain approach to deterrence. While the level of ambition for the Brussels Summit should not be set too high and the Summit will not resolve all questions, it could be the next milestone in NATO’s re-balancing to reemergence of the great power strategic competition.

Brad Roberts is the director of CGSR. Previously, he served as deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy (2009-2013). In this role, he served as policy director of the Obama administration’s Nuclear Posture Review and Ballistic Missile Defense Review and had lead responsibility for their implementation. From 1995 to 2009, Dr. Roberts was a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, VA and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. His book, The Case for U.S. Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century (Stanford University Press) was recently recognized by the American Library Association as one of the outstanding academic titles of 2016.

Jacek Durkalec is a postdoctoral research fellow. His research focuses on US policy of extended nuclear deterrence, in particular its role and impact on European security in the context of current global challenges and increasingly integrated spheres of strategic deterrence and influence. His areas of interest also include NATO deterrence and defense policy, nuclear and conventional arms control, missile defense, and WMD non-proliferation. Prior to joining LLNL, from 2010 to 2017, Dr. Durkalec was a research analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), a Staff Member in the Missile Defense Office of the Polish Ministry of National Defense in 2009-2010, and an intern in the Strategic Planning Unit of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2008.

Multi-domain Deterrence and the NATO’s Summit in Brussels

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) sponsored this talk entitled “Multi-domain Deterrence and the NATO’s Summit in Brussels” by Brad Roberts and Jacek Durkalec on July 9, 2018.

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