Who are the major threats in Germany’s new national security strategy?
Germany has unveiled its first national security strategy – years in the making and accelerated following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It includes more money for the military and fulfilling previous commitments on defense spending it’s made to its NATO allies. The document has fleshed out and added structure to the historic turning point – the “Zeitenwende” – announced by Chancellor Scholz last year in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion. It’s also a strategy for preparing German society for potential conflicts and making the country more resilient. After decades in which external threats seemed far away and Germany profited from a globalized economy, there has been a rude awakening. The country’s first security strategy is a step towards addressing the realities of a new era. The war in Ukraine broke out while this strategy was being planned, so how much did it change the calculations?