In October, the In Brief section on Second Line of Defense took on a broader job. It still covers defense news, but it now also follows trends and developments that shape the strategic environment even when they don’t look like defense stories at first glance. From October 18 through October…
By Kenneth Maxwell At about 9:45 on the morning of November 1, 1755, All Saints Day, the earth beneath Lisbon began to move. The churches were full. Many of the faithful were at mass when the vaults and walls came down on the congregations. “I could hardly take a step…
By Robbin Laird When I published my recent piece carrying Alvin and Heidi Toffler’s thinking forward into today’s strategic environment, I hoped it would start a conversation. I did not expect one of the most thoughtful responses to come from Deborah Westphal. Alvin Toffler recruited her to Toffler Associates in…
By Pierre Tran PARIS – France has scrambled to limit the damage after its chief of the defense staff told parliamentarians Oct. 8 that partner Germany has pulled out of a landmark project to build a new heavy tank and uncrewed vehicles, known as the main ground combat system (MGCS).…
By Robbin Laird Mike Wynne, the 21st Secretary of the Air Force, died this past weekend. He was my boss, my colleague and my friend, and he was one of the very few people I have known who understood how to lead, and how to drive real military transformation. “If…
By Robbin Laird At the end of August, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, Narendra Modi did something leaders seldom do in front of cameras: he pressed Vladimir Putin to end his war. Despite the organization’s name, the summit was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Modi told…
By Robbin Laird Canada can credibly become a more consequential middle power, but not merely by declaring one. The Carney government has moved faster than recent governments on defence spending and EU cooperation; however, Canada still lacks the export infrastructure, industrial capacity, military readiness, and execution machinery required to turn…
By Robert Czulda In Polish public debate, a range of controversial topics continuously divides society. Yet one issue stands out as not only contentious but profoundly unpopular: the return of compulsory military service, colloquially known as “zetka” (zasadniczna służba wojskowa). Driven by the precarious security situation along Poland’s eastern border,…
