Europe has long depended on the United States to guarantee its security. The experience of the Russo-Ukrainian war, along with growing uncertainties surrounding U.S. policy, has underscored the need for European states to do more to ensure their own security.

Renowned historian and strategist Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman asks whether Europe can rise to this challenge. In a discussion facilitated by Professor Janina Dill, Dame Louise Richardson Chair in Global Security at the Blavatnik School of Government, he examines whether Europe has the political will, strategic coherence, and military capability to protect its own interests. Drawing on his deep expertise in international strategy, war, and diplomacy, Freedman offers sharp insights into what Europe must confront—and what it must become—in an increasingly unstable world.