Germany’s security culture

Cold War security thinking

• World War II experiences and experiences in its immediate aftermath

• Two historical narratives that informed the debate in Germany: positive and negative

• The tenets of Germany’s Cold War security policy:

- Security threats- Tasks of the Bundeswehr: territorial defense- The conscription in Germany’s security culture- The centrality of NATO and the European

project

The 1990’s change in Germany’s strategic thinking

• Internal pressures: the CFE Treaty and the absorption of the East German army

• External pressures- NATO developments, the disintegration of former Yugoslavia

• Analyses• The Stoltenberg paper 1992• Defense Policy Guidelines (VPR) of Volker Ruhe 1992• Defense White Paper (1994): the mission of the Bundeswehr;

Army’s command and control structure; Crisis Reaction Forces (KRK)

• ‘Conceptual Guidelines for the further development of Bundeswehr’: restructuring of the Army

• Conclusions on the development by the end of the CDU government mandate: size of Bundeswehr, structure and defense budget

The Red-Green coalition of Germany’s strategic thinking

• Developments: the Kosovo experience, NATO’s DCI and the ESDP project

• Analytical work, conducted:• Von Weizsaeker Report, May 2000• Von Kirchbach Report• Conclusions:- Germany as a NATO ally- Bundeswehr- strong preference for conscription;

key task territorial defense; size, structure, composition; capabilities, defense budget

The post 9/11 debate

• Peter Sturck’s Defense Policy Guidelines (VPR)

- New challenges and responses

- US/German relation

- ESDP and NATO as a partnership