The potential collapse of NATO threatens to fragment European security into localized, regionalized pockets, according to a military expert from the Royal Danish Defence College.
Speaking to France 24, Jean-François Bélanger, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Military Operations, argued that NATO currently serves as a vital mechanism for unifying the defense interests of its various members.
"What NATO does really well at the moment is aggregate the different threat perceptions of its members," Bélanger said.
Risks of a standalone European army
Bélanger warned that attempting to replace the alliance with a standalone European army could trigger a fracture in continental stability.
He noted that such a shift risks a more regionalized security model, which would undermine the ability to mobilize resources quickly during a crisis.
This fragmentation could happen at the expense of the rapid resource mobilization that the current alliance structure provides.
Analysts suggest that the stability of the alliance faces pressure from shifting political landscapes and changing leadership dynamics within key member states.
