The Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD), General Admiral Teodoro Esteban López Calderón, urged this Tuesday to "preserve" diplomacy, cooperation, the defense of democracy, the rule of law, and multilateralism, also emphasizing the importance of Spain "not renouncing what defines its identity."
These statements were made during the closing of the presentation event of the "Strategic Panorama 2026" of the Spanish Institute of Strategic Studies (IEEE), the "think tank" of the Ministry of Defense, where he analyzed the current international scenario, which he described as "uncertain and changing" and "a scenario marked by the transition to multipolarity, the erosion of the international order, and geoeconomic fragmentation."
The JEMAD has considered it "fundamental" to have "a clear and well-defined strategy" in matters of security and defense "to know what direction to govern in order to achieve the objectives, providing a clear vision and unity of action." In his opinion, security and defense, economic and technological progress, and the protection of democracy and human rights "will condition the decision-making" of governments and other international actors.
In this regard, he stressed that the response to these challenges "must not resign itself" to what "events may bring" and listed the keys that, in his opinion, should guide foreign and security action: "We need pragmatism, anticipation, autonomy, alliances, resilience, we need strategic criteria," he pointed out.
Within this analysis, the General Admiral has focused on Spain's geopolitical position, located facing the Mediterranean Sea and the Maghreb, areas that he has defined as "fundamental for the trade and security" of our country. Therefore, he has argued that Spain "has much to contribute to the strategic reflection of the European Union (EU)."
During his intervention, the JEMAD did not make explicit reference to the crisis in Ceuta linked to the massive entry of immigrants from Morocco on July 30. The document presented, finalized in February, also does not include this episode, although it does warn that Morocco resorts to "diplomatic crises with its traditional partners as instruments of pressure to achieve political objectives in its attempts to replace the international framework of decolonization for the solution of Western Sahara with another of an administrative nature through autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty." The study does include mention of the massive jump to Ceuta in 2021.
Polarization, disinformation, and institutional strength
The JEMAD has also addressed the "context of polarization, disinformation, pressure on institutions, and political use of emotions," warning that "the strength" of states "does not depend solely" on their economic or military capabilities, but also "on the cohesion, the trust of citizens in institutions, and their ability to distinguish between information and manipulation."
In this line, he emphasized that "security cannot be understood as the absence of external threats; it also has an internal dimension: the strength of institutions, society, and our values," concluded the admiral general.