Defence and Industrial Policy in Slovakia and the Czech Republic

The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) is one of the main independent European Think Tanks on geopolitical and strategic issues.

IRIS, a public-interest association created in 1991, is a French think tank on geopolitical and strategic issues. It is the only international think tank to have been set up as a totally private initiative in an independent approach. IRIS activities can be divided into four fields: research, organisation of events and meetings, publishing and training.

The Armament Industry European Research Group (Ares Group) was created in 2016 by The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), who coordinates the Group. The aim of the Ares Group, a high-level network of security and defence specialists across Europe, is to provide a forum to the European armament community, bringing together top defence industrial policy specialists, to encourage fresh strategic thinking in the field, develop innovative policy proposals and conduct studies for public and private actors.Abstract:

Under Communism, Czechoslovakia was one of the main producers of armed equipment in the Soviet bloc and was major supplier of arms to third world countries. This phenomenon was aggravated by the fact that the dissolution of Czechoslovakia left the Czech Republic with the vast majority of value‐added sectors, such as aviation and electronics, while Slovakia was a victim of the loss of heavier armament production capabilities.

• Primary Source

IRIS: ARES – Armament Industry European Research Group http://www.iris-france.org/ares/

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