Global power politics is back – and Britain is woefully unprepared | Politics | News
Let’s be clear. 2025 was not a good year for the global order. Looking back, we can realize that America’s separation from Europe was a turning point when the system began to collapse. Not because of a single crisis, but because the foundations beneath us have shifted, allowing many shocks to erode the rules-based order as we know it. Global power politics is back and Britain is woefully unprepared.
While our enemies seek out weaknesses and target society directly, our defenses remain stuck in peacetime habits. More money is promised, but the new NATO targets will not fully come into effect until 2035. It’s worth asking how different and more dangerous the world will look by then.
Britain’s conventional forces are capable, professional and courageous; but they are worn out, old, and have waited too long for new equipment to arrive. Supply delays, depleted stocks and shortages of numbers all point to a system designed for yesterday’s wars, not tomorrow’s threats.
But what concerns us most is the gray area. Cyber attacks, sabotage, disinformation, election interference, coercive energy policy and attacks on undersea cables now define modern conflict. We say that Russia is at war with Ukraine, and it is. But we continue to deny a more painful truth: Russia is already at war with us. This is a war waged only below the threshold of tanks and missiles, where hesitation and uncertainty are weapons in themselves.
This is not new territory for Britain. When Europe’s security had been threatened before, Britain took action; often early, often costly, but always with determination. From the Cold War to the war on terrorism, our security has depended on reliable hard power backing clear political will. The lesson of history is simple: Deterrence only works when it’s real.
Therefore, past due investment is not optional. We must strengthen our armed forces, yes, but we must also strengthen our cyber defenses, intelligence capabilities, industrial resilience and national preparedness. We must be willing to even consider the return of National Service. Today, security is not just about the number of ships or jets; It is about preventing our enemies from gaining easy victories in every field.
If we don’t invest now, we invite risk later. England need not be reckless. However, one should never be unprepared. In a more hostile world, force is not provocation. This is protection.
