Russia’s April military build-up betrays its designs on European partners in Ukraine, and demonstrates a determination to continue its asymmetric assault on Ukraine and Eastern Europe at large. The time is now or never for European policymakers to decide how to respond to Russia’s continued expansionism.
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Global military consumption and destruction of natural resources and habitats not only runs counter to global efforts at combatting climate change, but has become a grave international security threat.
The COVID-19 global pandemic is forcing countries the world over to rethink government spending — reallocating funds from defense and security sectors to other priority areas along public health and economic fronts to contain the spread of the pandemic and manage its effects on the economy. Despite the fiscal strain imposed on New Delhi by COVID-19, the crisis also presents a unique opportunity for India to enhance the country’s defense exports at a point when the country is striving towards self-sufficiency in the sector.
With a return to great power competition, national security priorities are shifting. States, rather than non-state actors like terrorist groups or insurgencies, are the primary security threat. The idea that security encompasses more than military and defense issues alone has returned. The security paradigm of the twenty-first century has expanded to nearly every facet of human life.
Terms like strategic autonomy and defense union have become commonplace in the face of wavering American commitments to NATO and the transatlantic alliance. The shift in the discussion hints at a move towards greater European collective action on the world stage. With the resurgence of China, the return of Russia, the retreat of the United States, and the rise of the rest, Europe needs to define its own grand strategy.
It is well known the world over that the European Union is a major economic power thanks to the single market. Yet, it is far behind other major world powers in arms development and sales. Despite the inclusion of weapons in the single market, there exists no common market for the defense. The advantages to unifying the defense industry and creating a single market for defense are clear and undeniable.