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In a Europe of heavily armed states but shrinking democracies, the real risk is that extremist parties could gain control of strong armies with no one to stop them. (Photo: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 119-1983-0007 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de,)

Opinion

Europe isn’t weak – but rearmament without democracy is

by Alain Berset, Strasbourg,

The newly released U.S. National Security Strategy portrays migration as a threat of civilisational erasure for Europe. I reject that framing. But it is a reminder of how quickly anxieties about democracy can be turned into div...

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EU Political Opinion

Author Bio

Alain Berset is Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

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In a Europe of heavily armed states but shrinking democracies, the real risk is that extremist parties could gain control of strong armies with no one to stop them. (Photo: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 119-1983-0007 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de,)

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EU Political Opinion

Author Bio

Alain Berset is Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

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Related articles

Defending democracy starts by protecting Europe’s mayors and councillors

How NGOs die — Europe's playbook for dismantling democracy

Ten economic fault lines the EU cannot ignore in 2026

The potential for corruption and mismanagement in Nato's 5% target

EU arms firms' income surges due to Ukraine war

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