As NATO leaders prepare to meet in Ankara, Turkiye, Kori Schake, senior fellow and director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), joins Independence Avenue Media to discuss the alliance’s biggest challenges.
The interview explores why NATO remains essential to American security, how Europe would fare against Russia without U.S. help, how the war in Ukraine has reshaped the alliance, and what to expect from the July 7-8 NATO summit.
Schake, a former official at the National Security Council, State Department, and Pentagon, also discusses U.S. leadership, burden-sharing, NATO enlargement, Russia’s hybrid threats, and the future of transatlantic security.
Topics discussed:
· NATO Summit 2026
· U.S.-NATO Relations
· Trump’s NATO Policy
· Europe’s Defense and Burden-Sharing
· Russia’s War Against Ukraine
· NATO’s Response to Russian Aggression
· Ukraine’s NATO Membership
· The Future of the Alliance
· Article 5 and Collective Defense


