Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared the moment to be a Zeitenwende, a turning point for European security. From the Bundestag podium, Scholz announced the creation of a €100 billion fund for defense and a commitment to meet NATO’s two percent of GDP defense spending target moving forward. Nearly a year later, Germany is predicted to miss the spending benchmark once again, and the Bundeswehr continues to experience severe neglect, with German defense officials warning that the military only has enough ammunition to last for two days of intense combat.
Why, despite Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, does Germany, the continent’s strongest economic power and a close U.S. ally, continue to neglect its defense? Simply put, as long as the United States serves as Europe’s primary security guarantor and Russia’s armed forces prove themselves inadequate, Germany has no reason to seriously reform their defense policy or invest in costly defense expenditures.
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