WOJCIECH PRZYBYLSKI and GORAN BULDIOSKI
With America’s commitment to upholding its European allies’ security in serious doubt, and revisionist powers like China and Russia increasingly emboldened, the European Union is scrambling to strengthen its capacity to defend itself. But this effort could be thwarted by a fundamental paradox: while Europeans cherish peace, they largely lack the resolve to fight for it.
A recent report highlights the scale of this disconnect. Though half of young people in France, Germany, and Spain, as well as the United Kingdom, expect armed conflict within a decade, only one-third would fight to defend their countries. Across the EU, only 32% of adults say they would be willing to take up arms, including just 23% of Germans and 14% of Italians.
The problem is not simply that Europeans have embraced pacifism. Rather, the EU is beset by a dangerous complacency: decades of reliance on the United States have fostered a widespread belief that security is guaranteed, not earned. But Donald Trump’s administration has made it clear that Europe can no longer count on the US to defend it. With security threats proliferating – exemplified by Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s saber-rattling in the Indo-Pacific – Europe must cultivate a collective will to fight.
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