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Why is Germany spending so little on defense?
Because it doesn't feel threatened by Russia (unlike Poland) and because it has no military ambitions elsewhere in the world (unlike France).
The modest rise in defense spending (1,18-1,24%) is due to pressure of allies, mainly US.
Because it doesn't feel threatened by Russia (unlike Poland) and because it has no military ambitions elsewhere in the world (unlike France).
The modest rise in defense spending (1,18-1,24%) is due to pressure of allies, mainly US.
Pressure of allies can only go so far; it won't replace threat perception / fear or national ambition (to play a bigger role in world affairs).
Germany will only spend considerably more when either of these two will come into play: more fear or more national ambition.
Germany will only spend considerably more when either of these two will come into play: more fear or more national ambition.
The best hope is reasonable national ambition: an understanding that military power is a key dimension of power, and that power is necessary to keep the free and open international order alive, against the ambition of autocracies to "make the world safe for democracy".
But let's not fool ourselves, a bolder Germany equipped with better military means could revive old fears about "the German question", as articulated by Bob Kagan in his latest Foreign Affairs article. foreignaffairs.com/articles/germa…
The alternative to more independent military means is to integrate German defense into US-led NATO and French-led European defense. The post-WWII solution to the German question.
But than you end up with the current status quo, with Germans delegating questions of strategy and security to their two key Western partners -- and spending rather reluctantly, more driven by the desire to satisfy partners than by its self-assessed security needs.
*autocracy*
