NATO Free Riding and the Problem with Trump's Solution to Collective Defense

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Alliances, in theory, sound like a great opportunity to combine resources and deter a common opponent. However, once created, they also incentivize each member to reduce its military spending and free ride off everyone else. To combat this, NATO adopted a policy that states ought to spend 2% of their GDP on defense. But enforcing it is not as easy as it seems. This video explores the problem in light of recent comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

0:00 The Upshot of and Problems with Alliances
0:53 The Free Rider Problem
2:47 The Origins of the 2% "Rule"
4:54 Compliance with the 2% Standard
7:22 Trump's Solution to the 2% Problem
10:15 The Problem with Denying Collective Security
13:06 The Hidden Risk of Deterrence Failure
14:30 #wheresleslie

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Media licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/):

By Kremlin.ru:
http://en.kremlin.ru/catalog/keywords/78/events/50329
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/55063
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/58405
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60490
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/72034
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/73411
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/73585