Berlin Needs a Security Strategy

Judy Dempsey Op-Ed November 26, 2012 New York Times
Summary
Criticizing President Vladimir Putin's Russia is one thing. Doing something about it is another. And that is Germany's, and Europe's, problem.
Related Topics
Related Media and Tools
 
  • Email

Over the past few weeks, German government officials have been trying to come up with a strategy for Russia. I have written recently about Berlin’s strained relations with Moscow and refer again to the issue in my latest Letter From Europe.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition has found it difficult to deal with Russia under President Vladimir V. Putin. She dislikes him, which she has made plain during news conferences and a recent podium discussion in Moscow earlier this month.

At one point during the discussion hosted by the Petersburg Dialogue, Ms. Merkel spoke her mind. She clearly had had enough of Mr. Putin’s clampdown on the media and intimidation of editors that dare criticize his increasingly autocratic leadership style.

‘‘If I were offended every time I was criticized, I wouldn’t last three days as chancellor,’’ Ms. Merkel said. That did not elicit any response.

Criticizing Mr. Putin’s Russia is one thing. Doing something about it is another. And that is Germany’s, and Europe’s problem.

Because Germany is Russia’s biggest trading partner and because Germany is the most important country in the E.U. by virtue of its size and economy, Berlin needs a security strategy. It would explain, among other things, Germany’s national interests, the role of its armed forces and the connection between interests and values. Yet Germany has no security strategy or doctrine.

This is very unsettling for Germany’s E.U. partners and NATO allies. Neither organization knows where they stand with Germany over basic questions such as strategy, say diplomats. A security strategy would also make clear to Russia where Germany would draw the line.

Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s defense minister, who was Ms. Merkel’s chief of staff from 2005 to 2009, may now try to fill this vacuum.

In a lengthy guest column last week in the daily Frankfurter Rundschau, Mr. de Maizière said it was high time that Germany had a debate about international security and about the role of the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, in international missions.

‘‘As defense minister I ask myself why we don’t discuss German defense and security policy in schools, universities, churches or any other public forums.’’

It is not certain he will take this further in the coming months as the countdown to the German federal elections begin in earnest. It means that Europe — and Russia — will have to wait until after September 2013 for Berlin to come up a security doctrine, if indeed it will even do that.

This article originally appeared in the New York Times.

Comments

 
  • Report Abuse
Source: http://carnegieeurope.eu/2012/11/26/berlin-needs-security-strategy/evrc

More from The Global Think Tank

In Fact

 

70%

of oil consumed in the United States

is for the transportation sector.

20%

of Chechnya’s pre-1994 population

has fled to different parts of the world.

58%

of oil consumed in China

was from foreign sources in 2012.

32

million cases pending

in India’s judicial system.

20

million people killed

in Cold War conflicts.

18%

of the U.S. economy

is consumed by healthcare.

$536

billion in goods and services

traded between the United States and China in 2012.

$100

billion in foreign investment and oil revenue

have been lost by Iran because of its nuclear program.

4700%

increase in China’s GDP per capita

between 1972 and today.

$11

billion have been spent

to complete the Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran.

2%

of Iran’s electricity needs

is all the Bushehr nuclear reactor provides.

82

new airports

are set to be built in China by 2015.

78

journalists

were imprisoned in Turkey as of August 2012 according to the OSCE.

67%

of the world's population

will reside in cities by 2050.

16

million Russian citizens

are considered “ethnic Muslims.”

Stay in the Know

Enter your email address in the field below to receive the latest Carnegie analysis in your inbox!

Personal Information
 
 
Carnegie Europe
 
Carnegie Europe Rue du Congrès, 15 1000 Brussels, Belgium Phone: +32 2 735 56 50 Fax: +32 2736 6222
Please note...

You are leaving the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy's website and entering another Carnegie global site.

请注意...

您离开卡内基 - 清华全球政策中心网站,进入另一个卡内基全球网站。