Our founder’s take on the U.S. National Security Strategy was picked up by the Economist (18 December 2025). Here is the full text:

“The national security strategy explicitly states an intent to “cultivate resistance” to European leadership from within our own borders, revealing an insidious and fundamental threat. Regardless of one’s view of the White House, the strategic reality is that Europe is now caught in a pincer movement: squeezed from above by political expediency, and from below by disruptive domestic movements increasingly energised by a superpower.

European decision-makers must stop eroding checks and balances, a tendency denounced by the European Ombudsman and illustrated by the growing appetite to bypass unanimity rules in the EU under the guise of “urgency.” Such expedience merely energises critics and creates tools that illiberal forces will happily inherit and use if, as Washington anticipates, they take power.

Institutions that provide critical services, from universities to banks, have a responsibility too. Many have drifted into becoming active participants in political battles. This must stop. They should return to institutional restraint and focus on their core missions. Inspired by the cybersecurity concept of “attack surface reduction,” they must realise that restraint is the only way to ensure our institutions are not torn apart by the polarisation that Washington seeks to exploit.

Yohan Benizri
451 Institute
Brussels“