to defend them. And this should take shape in the defence field by
boosting industry, trade and new technologies. The dilemma seems
obvious; faced with the prospect of becoming irrelevant, Europe
can only opt for moving decisively towards greater integration.
Spain, whose influence in Europe should increase after the
withdrawal of the United Kingdom, is called upon to play a leading
role in the Union. It shares projects, threats and challenges with
the other partners. However, at the same time, it has its own
interests, special relations with different regions in the world due
to its unquestionably unique geographical position, which serves
as a bridge between North and South,
East and West. Spain is a substantial
part of Europe, it has looked toward the
Mediterranean for centuries, it has a good
neighbourly relationship with Africa and
it views America with a spirit of cultural
and historical community. This leads us to
adopt a global view that is consistent with
the parameters of globalization; nothing
that happens in the world, regardless
of how distant its origin may seem, is
alien to us. At the same time, aware of our
entity and possibilities as a medium power
in the international order, Spain focuses its
most immediate attention with a regional
perspective, identifying the Maghreb and
the Sahel as priority areas of attention. The
stability, progress and well-being of these very
close societies are of the greatest interest to
National Security. On the other hand, although
not so close geographically, there are plenty
of reasons for promoting the closest relations
with our sister countries in America, in the
economic, commercial, cultural and, certainly,
also in the security and defence fields.
THE FUTURE IS NOT SET IN STONE
Throughout these 50 years, the Spanish Institute
for Strategic Studies has consistently observed
the developments in the international arena and
analysed their implications for national security.
The change undergone on the global stage,
which has materialized in a multiplicity of actors
interacting on an increasingly reduced playing
field, the world, has exponentially increased
the areas of interest, both geographic and
thematic, on which an institution of geostrategic
analysis, such as the IEEE, should focus. The
Euro-Atlantic region, whose unifying element
is the Atlantic Alliance; Europe, with special
attention to the invariably complex relations with
Russia; the geostrategic unity represented by
the Maghreb and the Sahel; the Middle East
and, of course, Ibero-America, all attract the
attention of the Institute’s analysts. This does
Rafael Navarro / Photographic material: Pepe Díaz, NATO, EFE and CHOD.
not mean that regions such as Afghanistan or Asia-Pacific can be
neglected. Beyond the geographical scenarios, it becomes paramount
to focus on monitoring Salafist terrorism, conflicts in cyberspace,
demographic trends - so disparate in different parts of the world -, on
new technologies, climate change, epidemics and pandemics, the
evolution of megacities, etc.
This brief insight into the 50 years of the Spanish Institute for
Strategic Studies has revealed a world in constant change to
which the IEEE has been a discreet witness. Those who celebrate
its first centenary in another fifty years will most probably witness
an evolution of the international order,
which today beggars the imagination.
We hope this permanent transformation
will cast out fears that current economic
and technological conflicts will lead to
other kinds of confrontations. But, above
all, we want democratic societies to
celebrate many more decades of earnest
cooperation in defence of values such as
people’s dignity and equality, human rights,
progress and freedom. L
Spain shares
projects, threats
and challenges
with EU
countries
April 2020 Revista Española de Defensa 43