A seaman of USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141) looks out at the formation steam with USCGC Hamilton (WMSL753) and USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC 1142) while transiting the Atlantic Ocean.
Research project
Changing transatlantic security relations: Implications for Europe and Norway (TransatDefence)
Events
In a more uncertain world, securing a strong security relationship to its traditional partner and ally, the United States (US), is more important than ever for the Europeans. Yet, research and recent developments suggest that Europe is facing a real possibility that the transatlantic relationship may be seriously weakened. The TransatDefence project sets out to explore longer-term and ongoing changes in the transatlantic security relationship, what this tells us about the future direction in which the relationship is going, and what this implies for Europe and Norway.
We ask:
- Are transatlantic security and defence relations weakening?
- If so, what are the implications of weaker transatlantic ties for emerging European security structures, in the EU and in NATO and in relations between them?
- And; what are the implications of changing transatlantic ties and emerging European security structures for Norway?
To explore if, how and why transatlantic security relations are changing and what this implies for emerging European security and defence, we study two main cases with much relevance to Norway: 1) Transatlantic security relations in Europe, with a particular focus on EU-US-NATO cooperation vis a vis Russia (defence and Ukraine) and 2) transatlantic relations in space.
Other publications:
Schools of Thought in the U.S.: The Foreign Policy Camps of the Trump Administration. Michael O’Hanlon (Brookings Institution) (30.01.26). ARENA Policy Brief 1/2026. ARENA Centre for European Studies.
The Limits of Commitment: Four U.S. Defence Futures and the Meaning of Europe’s Security Guarantees. Jeremy Shapiro (European Council of Foreign Relations) (30.01.26). ARENA Policy Brief 2/2026. ARENA Centre for European Studies.
The project is financed by The Norwegian Ministry of Defence and is lead by ARENA – Centre for European Studies.
Project Manager
Participants
New publications
Populism and the Future of Transatlantic Relations: Challenges and Policy Options
This report assesses how changes in US foreign policy under a right-wing populist president affect the EU–US relationship and offers concrete policy recommendations on pressing issues. Focusing on the links between foreign-policy shifts, domestic polarization and antiliberal democratic trends, the report examines how domestic dynamics may constitute the most severe long-term challenge to transatlantic cooperation. It also evaluates specific policy challenges and opportunities for strengthening that cooperation in the years ahead. By exploring developments in US foreign policies and how these are linked to domestic polarization and antiliberal democratic ideas, chapters in this report shed light on how this domestic factor poses a severe challenge to the transatlantic relationship. Authors focus on how the rise of right-wing populism – with an increasing portion of the population resisting globalization, international institutions, free trade and even democratic values on both sides of the Atlantic affects the transatlantic relationship. Within each section of the report, a background chapter introduces the overarching debate, followed by three case studies focusing on observed changes, policy implications and recommendations for EU responses. The conclusion sums up key findings and provides recommendations for how the EU should respond to changing transatlantic relations.