Check out my book "How Ukraine Survived": https://amzn.to/47gnlEf. You can also read it for free by signing up for a Kindle Unlimited trial at https://amzn.to/3QMsBr8. (I use affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission when you make a transaction through them. Even if you read for free, you are still supporting the channel.) Alliances, in theory, sound like a great opportunity to combine resources and deter a common opponent. However, once created, they also incentivize each member to reduce its military spending and free ride off everyone else. To combat this, NATO adopted a policy that states ought to spend 2% of their GDP on defense. But enforcing it is not as easy as it seems. This video explores the problem in light of recent comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump. 0:00 The Upshot of and Problems with Alliances 0:53 The Free Rider Problem 2:47 The Origins of the 2% "Rule" 4:54 Compliance with the 2% Standard 7:22 Trump's Solution to the 2% Problem 10:15 The Problem with Denying Collective Security 13:06 The Hidden Risk of Deterrence Failure 14:30 #wheresleslie The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Media licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): By Kremlin.ru: http://en.kremlin.ru/catalog/keywords/78/events/50329 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/55063 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/58405 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/60490 http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/72034 http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/73411 http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/73585