THE DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE IN WORLD WAR II

Resumo

The Defense Industrial Base (DIB) represents a strategic pillar for national sovereignty, state decision-making autonomy, and the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces, particularly in contexts of international instability and high-intensity armed conflict. This article examines the relevance of the DIB through a historical case study of the Second World War, focusing on the war effort of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in response to Operation Barbarossa, launched in 1941. The analysis explores how accelerated industrialization, logistical reorganization, and economic mobilization enabled the USSR to sustain a prolonged war against Nazi Germany, despite severe human losses and initial constraints related to equipment, training, and command structures. The study draws on interdisciplinary literature in strategy, military logistics, political economy, and global value chains, emphasizing the interdependence between industrial capacity, technological innovation, and national security. It further engages with contemporary debates on technological dependence, economic sanctions, deindustrialization, and hybrid warfare, establishing critical parallels between the dynamics of the Second World War and current global geopolitical tensions. Finally, the article discusses the implications of these debates for Brazil, a country marked by premature deindustrialization and high external dependence in strategic defense sectors. It argues that strengthening the national DIB, in coordination with public policies in science, technology, and innovation, is a necessary condition to enhance deterrence capabilities, achieve relative strategic autonomy, and expand diplomatic bargaining power in an international system increasingly shaped by hegemonic disputes and systemic instability.