Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, the founding director of the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, hosted a two-day long seminar on tanks, armored fighting vehicles, related technologies, tactics, and warfare at the end of April with experts from the United States and Germany.

The seminar introduced participants to the complexities and capabilities of tanks, their role in crisis diplomacy and peace-making, and the practicalities of land and urban warfare. Recognizing that the best defense against a tank is another tank, the seminar also examined trade-offs among firepower, speed, appropriate protection, and weight, as well as the challenges of maintenance, advanced technologies, and costs.

“Tanks can be symbolic tools with profound effects on combat, diplomacy, and regional peace and stability,” Danspeckgruber said. “Their potential future development as a complement to drones, robotics, and AI components will be another chapter in land warfare and human ingenuity against fire and machines.”

Joining Danspeckgruber as speakers were two German military and security experts and Peter Polk, a retired U.S. Army Armor Officer and the CEO of PierWater International, a management consulting firm.