German Defence Politics

The book explains how German defence policy is formulated, and, ultimately, conducted. By taking a closer look at the roles of the parliament, the government, the Ministry of Defence and the civilian and military branches of the Bundeswehr the book focuses on the following topics: Actors involved in shaping German defence policy The institutional development of the Ministry of Defence and the services before and after the Cold War The management of defence The weapons acquisition process Public attitudes towards operations abroad The reform of German defence German Defence Politics rests on the idea that any attempt to fully comprehend German defence policy has to take on a perspective on politics first. By focusing on institutions and processes within the field of German security and defence policy this book is breaking new grounds offering defence specialists as well as academics a comprehensive overview about the state of German defence today.

The post-Cold War era has witnessed a dramatic transformation in the German political consensus about the legitimacy of the use of force. However, in comparison with its EU and NATO partners, Germany has been reticent to transform its military to meet the challenges of the contemporary security environment. Until 2003 territorial defence rather than crisis-management remained the armed forces' core role and the Bundeswehr continues to retain conscription. The book argues that 'strategic culture' provides only a partial explanation of German military reform. It demonstrates how domestic material factors were of crucial importance in shaping the pace and outcome of reform, despite the impact of 'international structure' and adaptational pressures from the EU and NATO. The domestic politics of base closures, ramifications for social policy, financial restrictions consequent upon German unification and commitment to EMU's Stability and Growth Pact were critical in determining the outcome of reform. The study also draws out the important role of policy leaders in the political management of reform as entrepreneurs, brokers or veto players, shifting the focus in German leadership studies away from a preoccupation with the Chancellor to the role of ministerial and administrative leadership within the core executive. Finally, the book contributes to our understanding of the Europeanization of the German political system, arguing that policy leaders played a key role in 'uploading' and 'downloading' processes to and from the EU and that Defence Ministers used 'Atlanticization' and 'Europeanization' in the interests of their domestic political agendas.

Reihe Schriften der Akademie der Bundeswehr für Information und Kommunikation - Band 30.

First published in 1986. Based on the theme that defense procurement serves as an instrument of alliance and domestic politics, this book provides the first comprehensive analysis of post-war West German approaches to and experience with procurement strategies. Dr. Cowen explores how successive German governments have used military procurement to facilitate the rehabilitation of the new West German state and later to consolidate the German position within the alliance. The author shows that by the mid-1970s the Federal Republic had succeeded in its procurement policy, acting as a serious partner for defense projects in Europe and building a flourishing defense industry. The book's final chapters describe the structural tensions between competing procurement objectives that have recently emerged. The FRG must decide whether to continue to maintain a whole range of defense industrial capacities or to specialize nationally and purchase other necessary commodities in the United States. According to the author, national specialization is not seriously considered by the German government. Such a step, the author suggests, would diminish Germany's role in the alliance and jeopardize one of its foremost foreign policy goals: equality with Great Britain and France

The Politics of Military Force examines the dynamics of discursive change that made participation in military operations possible against the background of German antimilitarist culture. Once considered a strict taboo, so-called out-of-area operations have now become widely considered by German policymakers to be without alternative. The book argues that an understanding of how certain policies are made possible (in this case, military operations abroad and force transformation), one needs to focus on processes of discursive change that result in different policy options appearing rational, appropriate, feasible, or even self-evident. Drawing on Essex School discourse theory, the book develops a theoretical framework to understand how discursive change works, and elaborates on how discursive change makes once unthinkable policy options not only acceptable but even without alternative. Based on a detailed discourse analysis of more than 25 years of German parliamentary debates, The Politics of Military Force provides an explanation for: (1) the emergence of a new hegemonic discourse in German security policy after the end of the Cold War (discursive change), (2) the rearticulation of German antimilitarism in the process (ideational change/norm erosion) and (3) the resulting making-possible of military operations and force transformation (policy change). In doing so, the book also demonstrates the added value of a poststructuralist approach compared to the naive realism and linear conceptions of norm change so prominent in the study of German foreign policy and International Relations more generally.

The American institute for contemporary German studies, which sponsors research and discussion on German politics, foreign policy and history since 1945, has compiled this book on the German army and its involvement with NATO, German politics and future strategic alternatives.

"Mobilising the concept of strategic culture, this study develops a sophisticated and innovative framework to understand developments in German security policy between 1990 and 2003. Germany's contemporary security policies are characterised by a peculiar mix of continuity and change. From abstention in the first Gulf war, to early peacekeeping missions in Bosnia in the early 1990s and a full combat role in Kosovo in 1999, the pace of change in German security policy since the end of the Cold War has been breathtaking. The extent of this change has recently, however, been questioned, as seen most vividly in Berlin's response to '9/11' and its subsequent stalwart opposition to the US-led war on terrorism in Iraq in 2003. Beginning with a consideration of the notion of strategic culture, the study refines and adapts the concept to the case of Germany through a consideration of aspects of the rearmament of West Germany. The study then critically evaluates the transformation of the role of the Bundeswehr up to and including the war on terrorism, together with Germany's troubled efforts to enact defence reforms as well as the complex politics surrounding the policy of conscription. By focusing on both the 'domestics' of security policy decision making as well as the changing and often contradictory expectations of Germany's allies, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of the role played by Germany's particular strategic culture in shaping policy choices. The book concludes by pointing to the vibrancy of Germany's strategic culture and argues that it will continue to define Berlin's approach to the use of force. Crucially, this may mean that Germany's perspectives may depart substantially from those of its key partners and allies. This book is essential reading for all those interested in contemporary European security as well as German politics"--Publisher's description.