Mariarosaria Taddeo , Professor of Digital Ethics and Defence Technologies at the Oxford Internet Institute , explores the digitalisation of defence and its intersection with liberal democratic values. In recent weeks, looking at the European Union (EU), and Europe at large, one is reminded of a pair of wire-stripping pliers. Forgive the lack of grandeur in the metaphor. These pliers have blades that grip and cut into a wire’s insulation before pulling it away, leaving the core exposed.