Current security policy of Germany has been based on the principles of the strategic culture developed in the post-Cold War realities. These were shaped after Second World War by West German political and economic elites. German strategic culture is strongly defined by historical experiences, the framework of the post-war international order imposed by the United States, and national economic interests. The unquestioned framework of the German strategic culture defined the role of a unified Germany as a civilian and geo-economic power. In international politics, Berlin primarily emphasised economic interests and promoted peace based on the principles of international law, a stable international order, and economic interdependence. At the same time, it approached the use of military force with considerable restraint, consequently limiting its own capabilities in this area over the years. Developments since 2022 – the war in Ukraine and the challenge to the existing rules of global security by Russia, China, and also by the new security strategy of the United States – have forced Germany to undertake a series of reforms in how the state functions in the field of security, as well as radical change in the financing and modernisation of its armed forces. These developments are also accompanied by shifts in German society’s approach to security issues. Does all this also mean a fundamental revision of Germany’s strategic culture to date?
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