The $10 Trillion Defense Dilemma: Calls for Doubling NATO Defense Spending

With escalating geopolitical tensions, including a more assertive Russia, instability in the Middle East, and China’s military expansion, global defense spending hit a record $2.2 trillion last year. Despite this, experts argue that European Union nations and their allies need to significantly increase their military budgets to meet 21st-century security demands. While political leaders praise progress towards NATO’s defense spending goal of 2% of GDP, security officials suggest that spending levels reminiscent of the Cold War era, possibly as high as 4% of GDP, are necessary to fulfill the alliance’s strategic objectives.