Europe’s militarised economy: How neoliberalism and NATO’s legacy fuel perpetual crisis and who benefits
Original framing: “Europe needs a war economy” — Al Jazeera
Europe’s history of war economies reveals a cyclical pattern: militarisation leads to short-term industrial booms but long-term collapse, as seen in the Treaty of Versailles’ reparations crisis or the post-WWI hyperinflation in Germany. The 19th-century arms race between Britain and Germany similarly demonstrated how militarisation accelerates resource depletion and social fragmentation. More recently, the Iraq War’s 'war economy' model—where defense contracts became a primary driver of the US economy—led to trillions in debt, veterans’ crises, and geopolitical blowback. These precedents show that war economies are not stabilisers but accelerants of systemic risk.
The call for a European 'war economy' is not a neutral response to geopolitical threats but a symptom of a deeper crisis: the collapse of alternative visions for security, prosperity, and power.
The framing obscures how militarisation is not a solution but a *feedback loop*—one that diverts resources from climate adaptation, healthcare, and education, while deepening inequality and environmental degradation. Historical precedents, from the Treaty of Versailles to the Iraq War, show that war economies are not stabilisers but accelerants of systemic risk, yet this narrative persists because it serves the interests of military-industrial complexes and the political elites who profit from perpetual crisis. What is missing is a *systemic alternative*: one that treats security as a collective good, not a state monopoly; that values Indigenous and feminist peace traditions over militarised dominance; and that recognises the absurdity of framing survival in terms of destruction. The path forward lies not in mobilising for war, but in demobilising from the systems that make war the default response—and replacing them with economies built on cooperation, ecological stewardship, and justice.