With the US more focused on China, and with Europe rearming in light of the Russian threat (coupled with doubts about the American commitment), the stage might also be set for a new relationship, moving from an imbalanced and vaguely defined ‘responsibility sharing’ under US leadership to ‘burden shifting.’
To better understand the mechanisms potentially underpinning such developments, we explore from a theoretical and empirical standpoint how diverging strategic priorities, when coupled with European rearmament and greater defence effort, may contribute to ‘burden shifting.’
We ask: To what extent, and if so, how, does European rearmament and increased defence effort bind the US closer to Europe? In particular; is Norway - through its unique defence-industrial and military contributions to western security - a possible model of ‘burden shifting’ among the allies?
