These questions matter. Yet they risk obscuring a deeper problem: defence capability is not only a matter of resources, but also of knowledge. Drawing on Hayek’s theory of dispersed knowledge and competition as a discovery procedure, this lecture argues that modern defence systems face a distinct epistemic challenge. In the absence of real operational selection pressure, peacetime militaries rely on proxies such as exercises, readiness indicators, certification procedures, interoperability targets, and procurement benchmarks. These instruments are necessary, but they are imperfect substitutes for battlefield discovery.

About the speaker

Wolfgang Benedikt Schmal is a competition economist with a PhD from the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. His research sits at the intersection of political economy, competition economics, and institutional analysis, with a particular focus on cartels, collective governance, and commons-related questions. He studied economics at Free University Berlin and University College Dublin. During his PhD, he held research stays at KU Leuven in Belgium and the University of Reading in the UK.