The challenge in geopolitics is not a lack of an engaged readership, but making international security relevant to those preoccupied with daily life. Under-30s in Europe, facing affordability crises and rapid technological change, often fail to see how profoundly responsible international security is for their way of life. This particularly affects their willingness to stand up for their country, and their ability to express gratitude for liberal democracy – both increasingly important as we enter an increasingly multipolar world.
The United States’ (US) recent National Security Strategy (NSS) can be framed as a golden opportunity for European nations – particularly the United Kingdom (UK) – offering a chance for the next wave of British and European talent to drive efforts to revitalise military, industrial and entrepreneurial sovereignty on the continent. However, there is no guarantee that it will be seized.
Yet, there is a chance for major things to happen in European nations, with big winnings up for grabs. As mentioned in the NSS, Europe’s share of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell from around 25% to 14% since 1990. In per capita terms, since 2000, real disposable income grew almost twice as quickly in the US than in European countries. Thus, a historic opportunity exists to reclaim Europe’s economic position in the world in such a way to secure a prosperous, self-sufficient continent.
Opportunities to step up
The NSS is the latest instalment in the saga of American retrenchment from its post-Second World War globalist posture. It selectively reallocates foreign policy resources away from Europe towards other theatres in the name of US ‘national interest’. This ‘step back’ provides Europeans with the opportunity to ‘step up’ in several ways, some of which can already be seen.
The US continues to urge its ally nations to increase defence spending, the latest threshold being 5% of GDP by 2035 following the June 2025 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in The Hague. The boom in private capital flowing into defence projects over 2025, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI) startups within Germany and the UK, indicates that European nations are ready to meet this. But this industry will require a continuous flow of new talent, new ideas and new technology to stay ahead of adversarial states.
Within European countries’ opportunity to revitalise their military posture, there is still an opportunity for the UK to lead on supplying new talent, new ideas and bold new technologies to this pillar of economic sovereignty.
Britain has historically maintained an economic advantage in defence compared to its continental peers – for example, BAE Systems is the only European defence company consistently ranking in the global top ten. The UK also has a track record of leading efforts to speak out against adversarial actions, such as its early vocal support for Ukraine and leading role in the Coalition of the Willing.
This has been driven by several factors, important among them geography. Britain has long fared as a versatile maritime power and ‘island neighbour’, fortuitously uninhibited by the causes of squabbling and policy gridlock that has, at points, prevented decisive buildup in this space on the continent.
Therefore, within European countries’ opportunity to revitalise their military posture, there is still an opportunity for the UK to lead on supplying new talent, new ideas and bold new technologies to this pillar of economic sovereignty. The next generation of British talent should embrace the country’s longstanding defence posture and ensure that the UK continues to stand up for its values.
Despite retrenchment, the NSS still outlines a desire to expand American access to critical minerals. This explains the emergence of the ‘Pax Silica’ alliance of Donald Trump, President of the US. With Britain and the Netherlands currently the only European signatories, this could become an area of tension as the rest of the free and open European nations look set, at least for now, to miss out.
Resource independence is an area of relative weakness for Europe. RESourceEU, the European Union’s (EU) equivalent to Pax Silica, launched in late 2025 to establish relationships with resource-heavy countries, has allocated just €3 billion (£2.6 billion) of investment in 2026. By contrast, Pax Silica has approximately US$100 billion (£74.6 billion) available for deployment. While European nations are not known for their sovereign critical mineral supplies, enough do exist to get the conversation going on greater resource self-sufficiency.
Here, the UK has a choice.
It can continue toeing the American line, or it can choose to work more closely with its allies and partners in Europe, eventually able to shun Pax Silica. Additionally, Pax Silica capital is designed to give the US a ‘first mover advantage’ in mineral capabilities in signatory countries. On the one hand, this looks like Foreign Direct Investment – which it absolutely is – and will bring local jobs. But in the context of the NSS, it should be seen as intending to serve one thing in the long term: American national interest. Britain’s national security architecture (which does include economic security) should not be sold out to an increasingly unreliable ally.
All of this provides a window of opportunity for the next generation of Britons and Europeans to step up and create their own networks to secure domestic supply chain resilience, ignoring America’s Pax Silica. This will be vital in achieving regional independence in the race to ‘go green’ and implement sovereign AI strategies.
Concerns over ‘Big Tech’ influence on US policy towards Europe should be met with homegrown alternatives. Replacing the likes of Palantir, OpenAI or Microsoft infrastructure will not be easy, or in every case necessary (or even desired). But, in an era of greater regionalisation, bright minds from the generation which has grown up with this technology should see the current transatlantic turbulence as an opportunity to get inventive and propose alternatives.
The UK is uniquely positioned to bring high quality, high value-add propositions to the European markets which continental partners would struggle to match. Its biggest asset are the ambitious, determined bright minds who have grown up seeing what does and does not work.
In 2025, the UK minted more unicorns – startup companies valued at over US$1 billion (£745.5 million) – than in 2023 and 2024 combined. This monumental track record blows other European countries completely out of the water, and demonstrates the opportunity for British entrepreneurial spirit to play not just a central role in European technological sovereignty, but a leading one.
The UK is uniquely positioned to bring high quality, high value-add propositions to the European markets which continental partners would struggle to match. Its biggest asset are the ambitious, determined bright minds who have grown up seeing what does and does not work.
The implications of a Democrat presidency
Predictably, senior Democrats have ‘slammed’ Trump’s NSS. But US retrenchment is part of a longer-running theme of an eroded Pax Americana since 1991. The current geopolitical era exhibits some degree of ‘power vacuum’, where one superpower – the US – steps back, but another cannot step up to take its role on the world stage – e.g., the European Union (EU) or the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This creates uncertainty about what rules everyone should be playing by, and who might be the next global authority.
In this world, European nations taking responsibility for themselves, regardless of the future stripe of the US administration, will serve to bolster their resilience against this uncertainty and support the case for their place in the world. The opportunity for the next generation to step up is therefore not one which will last just a few years, but one which supports a revitalised British and European paradigm in military, industrial and entrepreneurial posture.
The rationale for Europe stepping up
First, European populations are ageing. As this happens, we generally become more risk averse. Therefore, in not having new talent step up, European nations risk sleepwalking into ‘over-seatbelting’ themselves with regulation and quagmiring themselves economically. Proud, entrepreneurial spirit is the only way European nations can shake the old adage of ‘America innovates, China imitates, Europe regulates’.
Second, polarity is changing. The last 80 years have seen a world of a more limited polarity; ebbing and flowing with the influence of great powers. Obviously the US, Russia and European nations have had the podium. But the next 80 years are set to be much more multipolar, encompassing the rise of the PRC, India and ‘middle powers’ with increasingly rich populations who will demand more sway in global institutions and higher standards of living. This will create pressure on the ability of global institutions to agree on a ‘single’ way of doing things, which free and open nations grew accustomed to in the aftermath of the Cold War, but which they failed to back adequately.
Conclusion
To sum up, European nations need to think big, be enterprising and take more responsibility for their own industrial, entrepreneurial and military prowess. If they do not, they risk losing out on living standards and global influence in a multipolar world. The UK, with its unique strengths and democratic history, is poised to lead on this front.
But, who better in British and European society to do that than those for whom it is all to play for? A generation fuelled by ambition and a desire to live with purpose and have impact in this world?
So, to the next wave of British and European talent – go and get stuck in. You never know, it might just be the thing you were looking for.
Dominic Selby is an exam-qualified chartered accountant, as well as an individual member of Chatham House and RUSI. He has a keen interest in international security, entrepreneurship and innovation, and holds a BSc in Economics and Political Science from the University of Birmingham.
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The unicorn stat really jumped out at me. UK minting more in 2025 than the previous two years combined shows somethign's working despite all the doom narratives. The Pax Silica v RESourceEU funding gap is wild tho, €3bn versus $100bn makes it clear where the real commitmennt is. Worked with a defense startup last year and they were complaining how EU procurement timelines kill innovation before it gets deployed.
Excellent article that contains a lot of truth.