Why visible military readiness can preserve peace

Are warnings about Russian hybrid warfare helping drive higher defense spending across NATO?

Yes; they make the risk harder to ignore, while credible forces and visible readiness reduce the chance that an opponent will gamble on allied weakness.

Reports of Russian hybrid pressure and warnings from European leaders are helping produce higher NATO defense spending. Politicians farther from the immediate danger have been forced to confront a risk that front-line states already perceived. An opponent inclined to gamble is more likely to act when defenses look hollow and allies appear unwilling to respond. Simply pulling back to signal peaceful intent can therefore be read as weakness. Effective conventional deterrence combines trained forces with visible readiness and careful positioning that raises the expected cost of aggression without crossing the line into a provocation.