The return to collective defence: navigating the politics of allied war planning within NATO
Journal: International Affairs
Year: 2025

Abstract Following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ensuing civil war in eastern Ukraine, NATO has gradually refocused on collective defence. The incremental form of this transformation has been due in large part to NATO's internal dynamics, a delicate balance having had to be found repeatedly over the past decade between political and military considerations as well as among NATO allies' varied perspectives. To shed light on these internal dynamics, this article conceptualizes the