NATO Increases Military Spending

Jacob Montag

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance, headed by U.S. imperialism, agreed to increase its annual military spending requirements from 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 5% of GDP by 2035 during its recent summit at The Hague, Netherlands. This coincides with the ultra-reactionary Trump administration’s efforts to pass the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” through Congress, which would increase U.S. military spending to over $1 trillion annually while slashing several social programs and public services. President Trump praised the NATO military spending agreement, calling it a “monumental win for the United States” and a “big win for Europe and… Western civilization”.

The trend toward increasing militarization by the NATO powers is a reflection of the deepening general crisis of imperialism worldwide and the corresponding political trend of reactionization. As the rate of profit falls, the imperialist powers and superpowers are increasingly desperate to maintain their domination over the third world and to secure their positions on the world market. Although the imperialists seek to project an image of strength through their militarization efforts, in reality these efforts represent a clear sign of their growing weakness and isolation.

In their joint statement regarding the planned increase in military spending, NATO heads of state emphasized the “long- term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism” as justification for the decision.

U.S. imperialism in particular is facing threats to its position as the world’s sole hegemonic imperialist superpower as the crisis intensifies. On the one hand, the rebellion of the oppressed countries against U.S. domination is rapidly expanding, particularly in the Greater Middle East since the heroic Al-Aqsa Flood counteroffensive in October 2023. The recent defeats to Ansar Allah in Yemen and to Iran over the last two months have intensified the U.S.’s military crisis. Likewise, the people’s wars in Peru, Turkey, India, and the Philippines as well as the growing revolutionary movement throughout Latin America all present a significant threat to the strategic interests of U.S. imperialism.

On the other hand, the U.S. and its NATO allies fear the rising influence of their rival imperialists on the world stage, mainly Russian imperialism and Chinese social-imperialism. To address this threat to their interests, the U.S. and NATO imperialists must make preparations to wage wars for the re-division of the world. In Europe, this is most acutely expressed in the forward positioning of NATO military assets in Eastern Europe in an attempt to encircle the Russian imperialists and the U.S. imperialists’ attempted “pivot to Asia” with the aim of containing Chinese social-imperialism in the Indo-Pacific region.

Finally, U.S. imperialism faces a deteriorating political situation at home, with widespread popular rebellions such as the May Uprisings of 2020, the Palestine solidarity movement over the past two years, and the recent anti-ICE uprisings in several major cities. Each of these rebellions has required a militarized response from the reactionary state in order to defend the status quo, with columns of National Guard units, armored vehicles, and stockpiles of weapons and ammunition being deployed to American cities to repress the people. The more surrounded and overextended the U.S. imperialists become, the more they must turn to militarism, violence, and terror to preserve their wretched and decaying imperialist system.

Photo: 2025 NATO Summit at The Hague. Source: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken / Bart Maat

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