Xerxes Hafezi Rachti is currently enrolled at the Hertie School, studying International Affairs, focusing on International Security. At the University of Mannheim, he attained a multidisciplinary Bachelor‘s degree in English and American Studies and Business. His interests include technological innovation, strategic competition, and military operations.
Marina Henke is Professor of International Relations at the Hertie School and Director of the Centre for International Security in Berlin. Her research covers grand strategy and nuclear security. She holds a PhD from Princeton and published Best Practices in Grand Strategy Design (2025).
Europe has raised defense spending but remains structurally dependent on US manufacturers. As the US shifts focus elsewhere, this dependency risks limiting Europe’s capability during a potential Russian attack. To become a sovereign security actor, the EU must gradually build its own supply chain…
The tacit knowledge involved in the defence sector makes it difficult to simply convert civilian facilities and personnel into assets of the defence sector. States need to be strongly engaged in defence-related R&D. We should have a more sober and fact-based discussion about autonomous weapons sy…
How does Europe’s defence-industrial base compare to Russia’s war economy, and what must Europe change to sustain high-intensity war and credibly support Ukraine as US backing wanes? Industrial capacity, mobilised at scale and able to adapt legacy systems, matters more than cutting-edge tech in a…
