Why Germany Broke Defense Taboos

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Zeitenwende speech in February 2022 laid the groundwork for a transformation of Germany’s foreign and security policy. One year in, how much has Berlin’s positioning on Russia, energy, and defense changed?

Judy Dempsey, a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, and Sophia Besch, a fellow in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, sit down to unpack Germany’s traditional approach toward the military, current security and defense policies, and future relations with the United States, Russia, and China.

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

Why Germany Broke Defense Taboos

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