This article contributes to the debate about European defence in the light of the Russo-Ukraine war and growing doubts about US commitment to Europe. It argues that Europeans need to fundamentally relearn the ability to imagine military strategy from a European viewpoint. In a first step, we investigate the influence of manoeuvre theory in NATO thinking. In a second step, we engage with the growing manoeuvre-critical literature and come to the conclusion that manoeuvre theory does not hold the answer for European strategic challenges vis-à-vis Russia. In a third step, we reappraise alternative defence concepts mainly developed in West Germany during the 1980s as a source for rethinking European conventional defence and deterrence in the nuclear age. We argue that, even though concepts such as ‘spider-in-the-web’ do not offer ready-made blueprints, they do provide conceptual impulses to (re)think positional defence in the nuclear age. Finally, we point out avenues for future research.
Policy implications
- The current NATO planning for deterrence and defence against Russia is built on the political assumption of large-scale US military support. Such support can no longer be taken for granted. Europeans need to be able to defend themselves irrespective of whether US support is forthcoming.
- The assumption of US support is mainly apparent in the context of the ‘burden-sharing’ debate but is also manifest in the way NATO military strategy has historically mimicked US warfighting preferences. To be able to defend themselves, Europeans need to relearn the ability to think about strategy suited to their circumstances. This requires public debate.
- At present, military thinking about defending Europe is heavily influenced by the pervasive influence of manoeuvre theory, including in the current US warfighting concept of Multi-Domain Operations (MDO). The over-dominance of manoeuvrist thought encourages important political, strategic and geographic blind spots.
- By contrast, positional defence concepts do align better with the political, strategic and geographic environment of Europe. The classic literature on ‘Non-Offensive Defence’ (NOD) does not offer ready-made blueprints but offers many conceptual impulses to (re)think positional defence in the nuclear age.
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch