Rearming for Peace?

Defence budgets are rising, military capabilities are being rebuilt and governments are confronting questions about security that seemed unthinkable a decade ago. At NATO’s latest summit in Ankara, European allies committed to taking greater responsibility for their own defence. But the summit also exposed a deeper problem: growing uncertainty over America’s commitment to European security and a widening transatlantic trust deficit.

Britain, meanwhile, remains unprepared for a major conflict. Rebuilding its defence capabilities will require substantial investment at a time of economic strain and growing pressure to repair struggling public services.

Does rebuilding military strength make war less likely, or risk fuelling the tensions it is intended to deter? And alongside rearmament, where is the diplomacy and statecraft needed to prevent escalation?

Former Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood joins us to examine how we reached this point and what can be done to prevent a wider war. As governments prepare for a more dangerous world, can rearmament ultimately help preserve the peace?

Tobias Ellwood is a leading expert and commentator in the fields of geopolitics, foreign relations, military strategy, terrorism, defence, British politics, Ukraine, the Middle East, and NATO. Tobias was a Member of Parliament (UK) for nearly two decades, during which time he also served as a Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, and Chair of the House of Commons Defence Committee. Tobias has also worked closely with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on critical Middle East policy initiatives. Previously, he served as an officer in the British Army’s Royal Green Jackets.

Paul van Zyl is the co-Founder of The Conduit and Chief Executive Officer. Paul is a winner of the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He served as the Executive Secretary of South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission and co-founded the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), an international human rights organisation based in New York City.