A renowned political scientist, Herfried Münkler, has expressed doubts about the current state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In an interview with the Germany’s public radio station, Deutschlandfunk, he stated that European governments would be poorly advised to continue the policies of the past decades.
Münkler pointed out that it has always been said that a European defense without the United States is not possible and not desirable. He acknowledged that a defense of Europe or a deterrent capability without the US is a significant challenge and that a worst-case scenario would be the failure to recognize the current situation.
The political scientist also advocated for European nuclear weapons, stating that this would be a project that builds a capability covering the entire of Europe, encompassing the EU or NATO member states, as opposed to the French Force de frappe, which is only responsible for defending French territory. This, he said, is a different concept from the addition of British and French capabilities.