Defence and Belonging: Why Europe Needs a Doppelstrategie

Europe is rearming at historic scale. Yet even the strongest military means little if people do not believe in the Europe it is meant to protect. As the Director of the European Cultural Foundation, André Wilkens, writes in The Parliament Magazine, security is not just about defence budgets and borders. It is also about belonging.

A true Doppelstrategie treats hard power and soft power as equals. That means matching investment in weapons with equal commitment to culture, trust, and solidarity. Without this balance, Europe risks winning battles while losing peace at home to alienation, populism, and apathy.

The answers are already in front of us. Culture builds resilience in divided societies. Libraries and community hubs connect local trust to European belonging. Digital citizenship initiatives provide safe spaces online. Cross-border solidarity ensures communities stand together when crises strike. A Culture Deal for Europe must be the other half of the EU’s security agenda: funding arts, education, and civic exchange; countering polarisation; and investing in a massive Erasmus for Digital Creators to spread European values.

If Europe’s defence budget is approaching 5% of GDP, an equal amount must be invested in soft power — in the everyday work of building trust, imagination, and solidarity. This balance would make Europe’s deterrence credible, ensuring that when Europe is challenged, it is not only its governments that respond but its people who believe in Europe.

Photo: A mural in the heart of the European Quarter, Brussels, promoting the EU. (Matthias Manuel/Alamy Stock)