EUROPE’S SECURITY AND DEFENCE: SHAPING GERMAN POLICY IN THE MODERN ERA

This thesis investigates how European security and defence shapes German security and defence policy thinking today; and has policy on a European level and the concept of responsibility within Germany led to the development of military capabilities within the German armed forces. This paper loosely uses discourse analysis to identify motivations and ideas that have shaped German security policy. The paper begins with establishing the theoretical background of European security and defence thinking and illustrates how this is explained in constructivist and realist schools of thought. The next two sections outline the development of German policy from the Cold War till the Crimean conflict. It highlights Germany’s involvement in EU policy, conflict resolution, and the motivations within German policy thinking. The final sections directly cover the Ukrainian crisis and the rhetoric within political circles in Germany and the policy of the EU formed by the European Global Strategy in...Show moreThis thesis investigates how European security and defence shapes German security and defence policy thinking today; and has policy on a European level and the concept of responsibility within Germany led to the development of military capabilities within the German armed forces. This paper loosely uses discourse analysis to identify motivations and ideas that have shaped German security policy. The paper begins with establishing the theoretical background of European security and defence thinking and illustrates how this is explained in constructivist and realist schools of thought. The next two sections outline the development of German policy from the Cold War till the Crimean conflict. It highlights Germany’s involvement in EU policy, conflict resolution, and the motivations within German policy thinking. The final sections directly cover the Ukrainian crisis and the rhetoric within political circles in Germany and the policy of the EU formed by the European Global Strategy in 2016. The importance of Germany in European security and defence cannot be overstated given the economic clout and the geopolitical situation in and around Europe today.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

EUROPE’S SECURITY AND DEFENCE: SHAPING GERMAN POLICY IN THE MODERN ERA