‘Germany's security and defense policy: how the war in Ukraine is reshaping Berlin’s role in CSDP and the Euro-Atlantic security order’

The paper analyses how the war in Ukraine has impacted Germany's security and defense policy and its role in the European Union’s evolving Common Security and Defense Policy in a world of increasing strategic competition. While the European Union’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was swift and robust, it was also the outcome of a convergence of interests of the EU’s member states and it is far from certain that this unified response will prevail in the coming months. In the case of Germany, one of the EU’s heavyweight member states, this more confrontational Euro-Atlantic security order has challenged Berlin’s security and defense policy continuity and its role as a status quo power. Starting from the ‘Zeitenwende’/watershed moment’ speech German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave three days after the outbreak of the war, the purpose of the paper is threefold: first, it assesses domestic changes in Germany’s security, defense and energy policies and how Germany contributes to reshaping the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy; second, it takes stock of Berlin’s position vis-à-vis arms deliveries to Kiev and support for Ukraine’s bid for EU and NATO membership and its impact on the EU’s response to the war; finally, it focuses on how the bilateral relationship between Berlin and Washington has empowered or hindered the development of EU foreign and security policy in the euro-Atlantic context. Germany’s role will be crucial in creating a post-war European security order that enhances the EU’s international actorness while ensuring that the US remains engaged in euro-Atlantic security. But the question remains, can Germany deliver on the pledges it made 21 months ago, and step up its own commitments as a reliable and pro-active European partner and transatlantic ally, in a way that strengthens the EU’s and transatlantic security cooperation?