The European Iron Network: the remaking of the political economy of European defence production following the Ukraine War

Abstract

In this article, we develop a conceptualisation of the relationship between European institutions, governments and defence industries as a European Iron Network. This network is characterized by a web of interactions between governments, firms, sources of finance and innovation, and supranational institutions. The political economy of defence is often neglected in studies of European security, but the dilemmas posed by the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the second Trump presidency have highlighted its political and military salience. The EU ambition to play a far greater future role as outlined in the 2025 Security Action for Europe–SAFE Regulation, the ReArm Europe programme and the White Paper for European Defence introduces new elements to the Iron Network. Crucially, we show that the contemporary European Iron Network is contested and negotiated on multiple levels and thus is different to the more static military-industrial complex models of the US-centric literature.