Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has reshaped Europe’s security landscape. With Donald Trump back in the White House and questions about U.S. commitment to NATO, European states are rapidly rearming and investing in new defence strategies. At the same time, repeated Russian airspace violations and suspicious drone activity are raising alarms across the continent.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Emil Archambault, an Addison Wheeler postdoctoral fellow at Durham University and current fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations, about Europe’s rearmament efforts, the challenges of defence collaboration, and the growing security implications of militarized drones.

To learn more about our guest and their research, visit their website at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/emil-d-archambault/

Related Literature:

- Anicetti, Jonata and Urlich Krotz 2024. Why States Arm and Why Sometimes, They Do so Together. International Studies Review 26(4), viae031.

- Archambault, Emil 2025. How FACAS can move forward. DGAP Memo. Online at https://dgap.org/en/research/publications/how-fcas-can-move-forward [Last accessed: 3.10.2025].

- DeVore, Marc R., & Stai, Nora K. (2019). When Collaboration Works: High Politics and Realism’s Renaissance in Arms Collaboration Studies. European Review of International Studies, 6(2), 18-42.

Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/