Germany’s security culture

1. Germany’s security culture

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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