NATO

View from the Left

Some on the left view the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its expansion, especially into the Indo-Pacific, as a bad idea. They emphasize the need for “strategic empathy,” or in other words, understanding the perceptions of NATO’s actions by countries like China, North Korea, and Russia. 

With this said, however, most Democrats tend to favor NATO more than Republicans. This is evidenced by the calls from Democrats for NATO to “prioritize climate change as a security issue” as well as NATO’s laboring towards diversity and inclusion, with much emphasis placed on LGBTQ and women's rights. 

View from the Right

There are broadly two modes of thought about NATO on the right. Some on the right tend to be more critical of NATO and feel that problems within our own country warrant more of our attention than the international community. Many cite the border crisis or homelessness and rampant drug addiction as issues that could be better managed if our resources were allocated at home instead of abroad. Many on the right also take issue with the mass spending that takes place to ensure security and supposedly instill peace throughout the world, arguing that the other ally nations need to start giving their fair share. Some on the right believe that the cons outweigh the benefits of NATO membership and pose that we would be better off leaving NATO altogether. 

Others believe that the world is safer when the U.S. serves as the world police, as opposed to countries like China. Those who feel this way on the right — sometimes referred to as “neocons,” short for neoconservative — support our membership in NATO because they believe it reinforces the U.S. as a superpower on the world stage.  

View from the Center

Those in the center tend to have a positive outlook on NATO and our continued membership. However, some wonder whether NATO is always concerned about the right things. Many view security as NATO’s primary objective as a military alliance, and therefore worries begin to surface when NATO instead seems to concern itself more with LGBTQ rights.