For decades, Europe’s security architecture has been built largely on American military power. In the post-Cold War era, as European countries prioritized economic prosperity and adopted a security approach centered on welfare and stability, Washington assumed the role of the continent’s military backbone.
Today, however, this order is being seriously shaken. The security crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine War, U.S. President Donald Trump’s harsh rhetoric toward NATO and pressure on Europeans to shoulder a greater share of Europe’s security burden, as well as the rise of China, have confronted Europe with a new strategic reality. It is precisely for this reason that Germany appears to have entered a military transformation of historic proportions.
Rise of the German military
Berlin is no longer content to remain merely Europe’s economic engine. It is also positioning itself as the continent’s military center. The defense strategy announced by Friedrich Merz’s government late April, along with transforming the German armed forces (Bundeswehr) into “Europe’s strongest conventional army,” signals that Germany is beginning to move away from the limited military role it adopted in the post-Cold War era.
