Spanish defense without prejudice

At a time when Europe finally seems to be realizing the need to rearm and reverse years of low investment in defense under the umbrella of US security, La defensa española (Spanish Defense) appears as a timely and comprehensive analysis of the state of affairs in Spain, born with the constructive intention of contributing to a discussion will enable a coherent, realistic, and sustainable national defense.

That is the goal this book, in which brevity is no obstacle to presenting a complete picture of the status Spain's defense today and the many problems faced by the armed forces in carrying out their missions. Logically, the work begins by describing the current framework , characterized by uncertainty, greater instability, and the sample detachment from Europe, as this is the argument that justifies Europe's need to equip itself with an autonomous defense worthy of the name. In this description, Spain appears as a country weighed down by a very low level of 'strategic culture', a term that refers to the set of ideas shared in a country about the use of force, security, international leadership, or its role in the world.

The central part of the work is devoted to a detailed analysis of the current state of the three armed forces. Separate monographic chapters review each of them, their current capabilities, the programs currently underway to improve them, and, without seeking to criticize for its own sake, the most serious shortcomings they suffer as a result of long years of disinvestment and decisions not always guided by the right criteria. One after another, the main concerns of the defense sector are paraded through the pages of the book: from recruitment problems and low pay for staff ; to the dilemma of the need and advisability of building a new strategic projection vessel or a conventional aircraft carrier; to the urgent need to modernize and replace obsolete platforms; to that of recovering lost or seriously diminished capabilities; or to that of drastically increasing war reserves of all subject ammunition.

The effort required to resolve so many significant deficiencies is, as one might easily imagine, considerable. However, it is essential to do so if Spain is to transform its armed forces into a well-equipped and well-resourced entity of the size and scope necessary for national defense, fully adapted to the complexity of the strategic environment of the mid-21st century. For the author, doing so requires, of course, the contribution of significant economic resources which, while important, are not as important as the need for both the political will to follow the path and clear and correct criteria to guide the expense. What are the country's strategic objectives? What international role does Spain intend to assume? What interests does it consider vital, and which are secondary? If political leaders and, final, the entire nation do not ask and answer these questions—in other words, if the nation does not develop a healthy strategic culture— expense inefficient and, in the worst case, erratic, which is not of great financial aid national defense.

SALVADOR SÁNCHEZ TAPIA, researcher at GASS, is a Brigadier General (Res) and professor of Geopolitics and Conflict Resolution at the University of Navarra.