Germany
DE · Central Europe · NATO member since 1955 · EU founding member
Germany is the largest economy in Europe and the EU’s most populous member state. Its post-WWII foreign policy was defined by “civilian power” — a deliberate restraint on military force projection, strong commitment to multilateralism, and deep embedding in European and Atlantic institutions. Germany relies on NATO Article 5 for hard security while exercising influence through economic power and EU institutional weight.
Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered what Chancellor Scholz called a Zeitenwende (“turning point”) in German foreign policy: a commitment to raise defence spending to 2% of GDP, a €100 billion special defence fund (Sondervermögen), and the cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. This represents the most significant shift in German strategic culture since reunification.
Germany is a founding member of the European Community (now EU) and joined NATO in 1955 following the Paris Agreements. It participates in NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangement — hosting approximately 20 US B61 gravity bombs at Büchel Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate (Federation of American Scientists, 2024), with German Tornado aircraft dual-certified for nuclear delivery. Germany does not possess its own nuclear weapons and is a non-nuclear state under the NPT.
Germany’s defence budget has risen dramatically to approximately €108.2 billion, following the government’s decision to bypass the constitutional “debt brake” (Schuldenbremse) to fund its military expansion. This makes Germany NATO’s second-largest absolute spender after the United States (Nordic Defence Review, 2026; Chatham House, 2025). The Bundeswehr has approximately 186,200 active personnel following intensive recruitment drives, with a structural target of 260,000 troops by the mid-2030s (DW, 2025). A €100 billion special defence fund (Sondervermögen) approved by the Bundestag in 2022 began the recapitalisation, including the F-35A (replacing the Tornado for nuclear sharing missions) and new naval vessels. Germany subsequently bypassed the constitutional debt brake to unlock a further €500 billion infrastructure and defence package, cementing its position as Europe’s largest conventional military investor.
Germany has historically maintained strict limits on arms exports to conflict zones, though these have been relaxed significantly in the Ukraine context. It has provided Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks, IRIS-T air defence systems, and Patriot batteries.
Russia: Relations collapsed following the 2022 invasion. Germany’s prior energy dependence on Russian gas (55% of gas imports pre-2022) made it particularly exposed to the crisis and vulnerable to criticism of its pre-war Ostpolitik engagement strategy.
China trade dependency: Germany’s major automotive and chemical sectors have deep China exposure. Volkswagen, BMW, and BASF generate significant revenues in China, creating tension between economic interests and EU/US pressure to “de-risk” supply chains.
NATO burden-sharing: Germany long missed the 2% NATO target and was a major focus of US criticism under both Obama and Trump administrations. It met the target for the first time in 2024.
Germany is the key case study for the concept of “civilian power” (Hanns Maull) — a state that deliberately eschews military power projection and instead exercises influence through economic interdependence and multilateral institutions. The Zeitenwende of 2022 is studied as a test of whether civilian power identity can be fundamentally altered by external shocks. Constructivists emphasise the depth of Germany’s post-WWII pacifist strategic culture as the reason rearmament has been so politically difficult even when strategically necessary.
- 1NATO, Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014–2024) — nato.int
- 2German Federal Government, Zeitenwende Speech, Bundestag, February 27 2022 — bundesregierung.de
- 3Federation of American Scientists, Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Europe — fas.org
- 4Bundeswehr, Strength and Structure of the Bundeswehr — bundeswehr.de
- 5IMF, World Economic Outlook Database 2024 — imf.org