Defence awareness

Maintaining a certain balance in military aid to Ukraine in order to avoid an escalation of war with unpredictable consequences with Russia is the tricky vertex where NATO allies have to move. Provided Ukrainian troops can defend themselves and even recapture from the Russians as much ground as possible in the Donbas or if the dream is possible even Crimea.  

The very fact that the Atlantic summit was held this week in Lithuania, in Vilnius, a Baltic allied country bordering Russia, is in itself a message of firmness and determination for Russian President Vladimir Putin.  And, as if that were not enough, US President Joe Biden held a summit with the Nordic allies in Finland, the newest Alliance member that provides more than 1,200 kilometres of border with Russia. With his huge mistake of invading Ukraine on the false grounds of pushing NATO away from Russia's borders, Vladimir Putin has seen his Turkish circumstantial ally lift its veto and Sweden will be a member of the Atlantic Alliance before the end of the year.  

In a short space of time, two years, Finnish citizens have gone from 80% against NATO to 80% in favour of joining the Alliance...something similar is happening in Sweden. Control over the Arctic is crucial. 

But it is clear that the stark reality of life and international relations throughout history shatters in one fell swoop the absurdity that some have been using for their own personal gain and authoritarian theses.  

It is not democracy's legitimate use of force that can turn it into authoritarianism; it is the gradual process of defencelessness and weakening of state structures that gives wings to populisms that, deceived by false promises, gain power to use it for their own benefit.  

At Alliance meetings, the role of the defence industry and the budgets that need to be devoted to dealing with the threat posed by Putin's invasion of Ukraine are being increased. This is a challenge for an industry that has points of Atlantic collaboration but also enormous misgivings... The clearest case is that of France, which is claiming for its companies, instead of American ones, the high funds that are being managed at the moment.  

We can say that the defence industry is being resized to move from an almost minimal situation to guarantee deterrence and internal defence, especially in the case of Europe, to an expansion of production and approaches more in line with those of the United States. A public-private partnership is essential. The needs for something as basic as ammunition have created huge differences over who had to manufacture it, while on the battlefront there was a lack of greater operability and efficiency in decision-making. At this point, the evolution of public opinion is allowing and forcing defence industry companies to emerge from their near anonymity, their low profile so as not to disturb or raise the outdated and outmoded banners of good intentions, and to claim their role in security and defence - if you want peace, prepare for war - but also their essential role in the development of new technologies and research for use in civilian life as well. There are many examples, the clearest of which are the internet, GPS, the epidural or the microwave.