The United States and NATO, a sound relationship? - A content analysis of US sentiments towards NATO in context of military contributions

Abstract: NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a defense coalition that for many years has served to protect the peace and security of many nations. Its capabilities as a collective alliance have predominantly been built on the contributions from its member states, among which the United States undoubtedly has been one of its most foundational components. On the basis of financial burden-sharing and conception of roles, the purpose of this study has been to examine domestic US sentiments and attitudes towards NATO in recent years. In a context of the distribution of contributions to NATO between 2013 and 2019, the paper has through a qualitative content analysis studied documents from the United States Congress to determine if there has been a change in the US outlook of NATO. By using the theoretical framework national role conceptions, it has concluded that their view of the alliance, its partnerships, and the engagements they embrace bilaterally have not experienced any greater changes. Consistent signs of appreciation, as well as similarities and recurrences in the type of roles they want to adopt through the institution, indicate that the United States still has trust in the alliance as well as commitment to its purposes.