An expert exchange of views on the Central European defense outlook took place on October 21 organized by John Lukacs Institute for Strategy and Politics at the workshop ‘Defense matters in Central Europe – A ’Post-American Central Europe’ in sight?’.
Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Polish and Swedish experts joined their Hungarian colleagues – policy analysts, members of academia, as well as guest researchers at John Lukacs Institute for discussing the effects and possible future outcomes of the Russia–Ukraine war, with a particular emphasis on how the upcoming U.S. presidential election might affect regional security.
The exchange of expert views pointed out that a change in U.S. military presence and security guarantees would have determining effects on both NATO collective defense, and individual member states’ homeland defense. Participants highlighted that several Central European countries try to ‘bind U.S. presence’ in the region either through increasing the number of U.S. troops on the ground, or by the procurement of American defense technology and military assets. Contrary to this, the mid-term trend since the mid-2010s is the shifting strategic focus of the U.S. towards Asia and the People’s Republic of China, what necessarily would bring about a decrease in U.S. military presence in Europe. The outcome of these two contradicting processes will be determining for the security and defense of Central Europe, therefore their sustained assessment by regional experts is necessary, calling for continued consultation among participants in the future as well.
Text: Tamas Csiki Varga, PhD
Photos by Dénes Szilágyi