Strategic Lessons from Contemporary Geopolitical Conflicts for Peru’s Security and Defense: Multidomain Operations, Strategic Autonomy, and National Resilience

Abstract

This article analyzes the strategic lessons derived from contemporary geopolitical conflicts and their implications for Peru’s security and defense system. It examines three critical scenarios: the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has become a contemporary reference for attritional warfare and multidomain operations; the asymmetric conflict between Iran and Israel, in the context of United States (U.S.) involvement, as a model of strategic resistance through proxy warfare; and the Venezuela-U.S. scenario as an expression of great-power competition in Latin America. The findings show that Peru faces significant indirect strategic exposure as the international order is reshaped into a multipolar system, together with accumulated deficits in cyber defense, the absence of integrated multidomain capabilities, critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, external technological dependence, and limited national resilience. Against this backdrop, Peru needs to move from a reactive and fragmented model toward a comprehensive multidomain defense approach, strengthening strategic autonomy through sustained investment in critical capabilities, diversification of partnerships, development of a national defense industry, and consolidation of national resilience as a fundamental pillar of state security.