Why the name

Article 30 of the Spanish Constitution states that «Spanish citizens have the right and the duty to defend Spain». We have adopted the name «Article 30» as we saw it as a simple and effective way to associate a brand with a message. This initiative aims to become a think tank promoting analysis and debate around geostrategic and security matters, especially those which affect our defense posture and policy.

The road travelled thus far

The initiative started in 2013 as a 2.0 platform coinciding with the publishing of the National Security Strategy in Spain, following one of its stated objectives: “the promotion of a culture of defense”. Today we already have a track record at the service of students, professionals, opinion makers and political leaders, as well as the general population. We believe that the complex matters related to our interests and the threats and challenges we face as a nation have to framed within a wider debate in the larger social spectrum, as they will directly influence our common welfare as a society; our diverse political, historical, social, economic and cultural realities.  To this end, we participate in diverse activities, fora and work groups, both at a domestic and international level, we offer opinion pieces and analysis to media and communications groups and content to interested political parties, counting on a diverse community of contributors.

We do not shy away from Politics

Defense matters are not great vote-winners in elections, but poorly conceived, implemented or inadequately explained defense policies can spell political disaster. Real-life conflict resolution is seldom accompanied by win-win situations which can be sold to the public in politically correct and politically-agreeable messages. Sustained and coherent international efforts towards peace and development are only possible if terms such as “threats”, “interests”, “security”, “deterrent” or “military capacity” are as honestly and rationally understood and discussed as “cooperation” and “diplomacy”.

In an increasingly globalized world, conflict prevention and resolution affects individual nations ever more intensely and directly. As a social initiative, we thus do not shy away from the political discourse and we do also want to dedicate our time and effort to build a better, and more prepared, society in that respect. It is us citizens who vote and pay taxes, and who therefore should be better informed about what takes place within and beyond our borders and how it affects us. We are part of our country’s defense policy the public sphere, in social media, through fora and debates. We invite you to participate.

What we do

Our different activities are defined by the statues of the Association:

• Promoting a culture of Defense throughout society.
• Serving as a platform to promote debate and citizen participation in defense policy issues.
• Dissemination of the content of the National Security Strategy.
• Active participation in strategic community sector activities and initiatives.
• Dissemination and distribution of opinion and analysis on defense policy issues, both domestic and international, concerning international institutions, our armed forces, industry and technology, diplomacy, international cooperation and development, intelligence or strategic positioning spheres.
• Serving as an intermediary between society, influencers, decision makers and legislators to promote the defense and security agenda.
• Supporting universities and academic initiatives in these fields.
• Collaborating with and supporting the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
• Supporting the youth leadership and University agenda in these fields.

We’ll inform you in «3 minutes»

We place great value on strategic thought and positioning as well as differing levels of influence of strategic actors in the process of decision making. Through our “3 Minute Analysis” section, we aim to create a database, a virtual ecosystem of diverse and open points of view to share different criteria and opinion regarding the main issues which both directly and indirectly affect our defense policy. This ecosystem of opinion and analysis will develop into a comprehensive “chain of thought” and eventually into a proper “doctrine”, and as such we aim to give it a practical, concise and disseminatory sense.

We like Defense issues

If, as our National Defense Strategy states, our defense concerns us all, then defense issues must be present in our public opinion debates, in our industrial initiatives, in our culture, education and budgetary debates. We firmly believe that these issues, long time absent, must acquire an invigorated and unapologetic relevance in our public discourse. If, like us, you enjoy dealing with international security and defense issues, we invite you to participate.

Who pays

This initiative is not profit based; we are wholly funded by member and sympathizer contributions. We are thankful to those who support us through their time, effort, ideas, experience and contributions, as well as our regular collaborators.