Andrew Latham
Today, the great and the good of Europe are gathering in Paris for yet another emergency summit, this time to discuss Ukraine and “security in Europe.” The spectacle will be grand, the rhetoric will be lofty, and the statements will be full of self-importance. But make no mistake – this meeting is little more than a diplomatic mirage. Europe has been sidelined from serious strategic decision-making because it has long refused to be a serious player in defense and security. The real discussions about Ukraine’s future aren’t happening in Paris; they will take place in Saudi Arabia, where the United States and Russia will engage in actual negotiations that determine the trajectory of the war. Europe has been reduced to bystander, offering commentary while others make the real moves. This is the logical outcome of decades of strategic neglect and delusions of moral leadership without the hard power to back it up.
For years, European leaders have clung to the fantasy that they could shape global affairs through soft power, economic leverage, and moral posturing. Meanwhile, they have gutted their militaries, outsourced their security to the United States, and hoped that history had somehow moved beyond the need for deterrence. The result? When war returned to the continent, they found themselves utterly unprepared. NATO’s European members have scrambled to rearm since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but their efforts remain lackluster. Germany, despite its grand proclamations of a “Zeitenwende” (historical turning point), is still struggling to meet even its own modest defense targets. France, despite having one of the most capable European militaries, lacks the resources to lead continent-wide efforts. The United Kingdom, under successive governments, has allowed its military capabilities to erode, leaving it struggling to project power beyond token gestures.
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