By Pasha Zaldi, University of Liverpool John Moores
All opinions are those of their respective author, and are not indicative of the stance of EUPS.
This article was written in November 2025. Due to unexpected issues, it was not published until January 2026.
Each November, as poppies bloom on lapels all over the UK and Commonwealth countries, one phrase starts to appear on banners, bus tickers, and all the way to pitch-side boards in football matches: Lest We Forget. A solemn promise to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in not only protecting their nations, but also to provide the world a blanket of peace. But as Europe sees its eastern borders ravaged with bloodshed and violence, as Western European countries begin to increase armaments in anticipation of yet another war on the continent, we must ask ourselves whether we have truly remembered the lessons that millions died to teach us. As we remember the wars, the atrocities and the sacrifices that millions made, seldom do we remember the causes and events that brought us to world war. In doing so, we risk tearing up the blanket of peace that millions have given their lives to sow.
We stand at a crossroads of European history. The continent saw €106 Billion being invested in defence in 2024. This is a 42% increase from the previous year. This increase, sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is a dangerous step for the European countries to take. As an Arms races do not simply prepare nations for conflict; they normalise the expectation of it. And with the advent of modern devices of warfare, the world simply cannot afford to plunge itself into another large-scale global conflict.
Recent events in the east of Europe mirror the events that led up to both world wars: a breakdown in diplomacy followed by a militaristic response by all. “Indeed, the failure of political leaders at the time to take a hard moral look at war, and their too-ready acceptance of Clausewitz’s dictum that “war is the continuation of politics by other means, were themselves among the causes of the Great War” (SCARRE, 2014, p.324). This failure of politicians shall too, if we are not careful, be the thing that plunges Europe into another devastating continental war. We must let go of the “realist” view of an anarchistic world dictated by the militaristic whims of countries. Instead, we should strive to foster a spirit of global solidarity and further causes in the interest of the common good of all people of all nations of the world.
With so many, so willing to go to war, we must take this year’s Armistice Day not only as a day to recall the past, but also to look ahead and consider what path to take forward to restore peace on the continent. We must not let commemoration of war turn into an “advertisement for the merits of war as a means of settling international disputes” (SCARRE, 2014, p.321). For if we had truly understood the lessons that millions died to teach us, we would have buried our weapons along with our heroes to ensure such a thing shall never befall Europe or the world ever again.
Lest we forget, Lest we repeat
Sources cited:
Scarre, G.F., 2014. Lest we forget: How and why we should remember the great war. Ethical Perspectives, 21(3), pp.321-344.
