The United Kingdom’s latest Strategic Defence Review, unveiled this week, paints a stark and unsettling picture of a Western world on edge. Commissioned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer following his election in July last year, the review is not merely a blueprint for military modernization-it is a clarion call for a wholesale reimagining of national defense strategy in an age where traditional deterrents seem increasingly obsolete. In essence, it reflects a growing recognition among policymakers that the geopolitical landscape is shifting dangerously and that the West is, by many measures, exposed and unprepared.

British officials made little effort to mask the gravity of the situation. Declarations that a “new era of threats needs a new era of defense” and that the UK must “prepare for war in order to preserve peace” are a sharp departure from the more measured language typical of post-Cold War defense policies. Such rhetoric, while alarming, underscores the urgency that now grips Westminster and many other European capitals as the continent grapples with a rearmed and belligerent Russia, a more assertive China, and a host of asymmetric threats that defy conventional responses.

The review identifies a constellation of threats, both traditional and novel. Russia, unsurprisingly, tops the list, described as an “immediate and pressing” menace. China’s growing cyber capabilities and global influence represent a “sophisticated and persistent challenge,” while Iran and North Korea are categorized as disruptors rather than existential threats. Perhaps more worryingly, the review highlights non-state and structural dangers-climate change, foreign disinformation campaigns, cyber sabotage, and even the potential........

© Blitz