The Role of the Civilian Economy in Strategic Resilience

The experience of the war in Ukraine has demonstrated that the boundary between civilian and military spheres has effectively disappeared. Modern deterrence depends not only on armies and weapons, but on the ability of entire economies to function under strain. Energy, logistics, transport, communications, healthcare, and digital infrastructure have become decisive components of strategic stability. The Russian campaign of hybrid attacks—targeting pipelines, power grids, and supply chains—has revealed that vulnerability in these areas can paralyse defence before a single shot is fired. Europe’s security is therefore contingent on its capacity to integrate the civilian economy into the logic of resilience. Civilian industries, once viewed as peripheral to defence policy, are now essential actors in sustaining military endurance and societal cohesion. The strategic question is no longer whether the economy can support the military, but whether the economy itself is structured to survive the conditions of modern conflict.