The Price of War: European Defense and the Military-Industrial Complex

Europe is ramping up its defenses, with discussions about militarization, strategic autonomy, and NATO targets becoming commonplace in political, mediatic, and public discourses. The perceived existential threats from Russia and doubts about the reliability of the United States appear to be driving this push toward rearmament. But how deeply are counterarguments being considered? And what are the real costs and for whom?

The European Commission, once a proponent of demilitarization, now leads efforts to enhance military capabilities, allowing member states to incur additional debt to boost defense budgets. This military push comes at a significant cost, raising questions about the exact price and who will bear it. In Brussels, defense companies have deployed numerous lobbyists, promoting the “ReArm” Europe plan both as a strategic necessity and as a way to revitalize struggling industries. This highlights the presence of a military-industrial complex in the EU: a network of industrials, policymakers, and military actors driving increased armament.

This event will explore the costs of rapid militarization, both financially and normatively, examining who stands to gain and the potential unintended consequences of this massive capital transfer towards defense.

About the speakers

Gjovalin Macaj is Assistant Professor in peace and justice at Leiden University. He holds a DPhil in human rights from the University of Oxford and a PhD in European foreign policy from Free University of Brussels. He served as an advisor to the Mission of Albania at the United Nations Security Council in 2022–23, where he covered country situations (e.g. Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq) and thematic issues (e.g. peacekeeping, sanctions, international courts and tribunals). His research focuses on the theory and practice of human rights, ethics, norms, diplomacy, the European Union and the United Nations.

Wendela de Vries is researcher and co-founder of Stop Wapenhandel, a research-based campaign group. She studied international relations at the University of Amsterdam and is steering member of the European Network Against Arms Trade. Her research and activism focuses on military trade and production in the Netherlands and the EU and the militarisation of the climate crisis.

Leo Ranieri (moderator) has a multidisciplinary background spanning the biomedical sciences, medical anthropology, politics, and philosophy. His interest lays at the nexus of these disciplines, particularly around the notion of “the human” and who gets to be considered as such. He mobilises a philosophical repertoire inspired by the biomedical sciences to speculate towards a novel conceptual vocabulary geared at contemporary political problems, notably questions of borders, gender, and identity.