iker zirion: “If we prepare for war, war is what we’ll get”

Militarism and bellicism “foster violence, domination, human rights violations and wars.” That is why, according to the professor of International Public Law and member of the Hegoa Institute, iker zirion lanzaluze, if we prepare for war, “sooner or later we’ll end up with war.”

In an article published this March in Campusa, iker zirion outlined his concern about the increased public support for militarism: “They keep saying that Europe needs to re-arm. (…) I’ve even heard students say it in my classes in the last few days”. His opinion runs contrary to what appears to be the emerging dominant trend. Instead, he argues that the true tools (and policies) of peace and security are "defending social policies and promoting coexistence, solidarity, peace education, well-being and the human rights of all people everywhere".

In his article in Campusa, the author of “La paz y la seguridad en la teoría de las Relaciones Internacionales” (Cuadernos de Trabajo, Hegoa, 2024) presented some key details about the global arms industry. Despite the fact that 65% of the weapons purchased by European states are manufactured in the USA, “they want us to believe that this is not the reason behind this call to re-arm” or for Trump’s continued obsession with Europe's rearmament. zirion also highlighted that France, Germany, Italy and Spain are among the ten largest arms exporters in the world.

Standing firmly opposed increased military and defence spending, zirion calls for a public debate on the transformation of the military industrial sector in the Basque Country. In this regard, he is highly critical of Basque companies involved in the arms trade and also the Basque Government, highlighting its “firm and historic policy of supporting the Basque military industry with public money.” 

You can read the full article here. 

iker zirion landaluze. Photo: Miguel Espiga. UPV/EHU.