Elisabeth Braw

Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and the author of Goodbye Globalisation.

Tuesday

Elisabeth Braw

Military service would ready Britons for our unstable world

From our UK edition

To serve or not to serve? Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has declared that the UK government has no plans to introduce conscription. Meanwhile, the President of Latvia, which recently resuscitated conscription, has suggested many other European countries should do as they do. Given the state of the world, the UK would do well to reconsider its position. Every few months or so, someone proposes that the UK should bring military service back. And each time, this undertaking is supposed to perform different functions: teach teenagers to become adults; keep teenagers out of trouble; magically solve the armed forces’ recruitment woes.

Wednesday

Elisabeth Braw

The West must prepare for world war three

From our UK edition

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is demonstrating in no uncertain terms that world war three is possible. Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, who is also his country’s former top commander, has suggested that other countries can prepare by learning from what is happening in Ukraine. They certainly can. Better yet, by swiftly preparing their societies for a war like the one now raging in Ukraine, western countries can help prevent another world war. Had institutions, companies and citizens not been so agile, Ukraine would be facing not just a brutal Russian invader but a collapsing society too ‘Is humanity ready to calmly accept the next war in terms of the scale of suffering? This time the Third World War?

Saturday

Elisabeth Braw

Sunak is right, Britain needs national service

From our UK edition

The Tories have announced that, if re-elected, they will introduce national service. And it won’t be the miserable existence imposed on all young men in conscription years past. Instead, the Tories will invite 18-year-olds to compete for selective 12-month spots in areas including cyber security, logistics and civil response. That’s the model Norway has successfully been operating for over three decades. In addition, young people will be asked to volunteer on a monthly basis with the NHS, the fire service or charities looking after elderly and lonely people. Such service is a win-win: it’s beneficial for the young people involved in it, and even more importantly it helps make our country safer and more resilient.

Sunday

Elisabeth Braw

We need to talk about war

From our UK edition

‘Don’t mention the war!’ Remember that? Today, war seems nearly all that European leaders want to talk about. The prospect of conflict with Russia is real, and a confrontation seems increasingly likely. That’s why Europe’s political leaders are beginning to discuss, in frank and sometimes alarming tones, the ways their countries should prepare to fight. Estonia’s prime minister, Poland’s head of national security and the Danish defence minister all say Russia could have the soldiers and equipment to launch an attack in three years. Emmanuel Macron last week met his German and Polish counterparts in Berlin to discuss Europe’s military support for Ukraine, after refusing to rule out – again – deploying French troops onto Ukrainian soil.