The national conscious of the Nazi atrocities in German memory has led to cautiousness towards conflict in the German public and government. While this position is a natural reaction and in many respects noble, it has unfortunately decreased Germany’s ability and consequent role to be an international peacekeeper and decision maker. Indeed, Germany’s relations with traditional powers such as the United States and Great Britain have undoubtedly been affected by the apprehension associated with German worldwide involvement. In order to sufficiently repair important diplomatic relationships and raise its role as a purveyor of social democracy, Germany must engage in a plan to increase militarization with the appropriate adjustment of political stance to encourage public opinion towards proactive international contributions.
In the wake of World War 2, West Germany was decidedly demilitarized in order to avert future German involvement in conflict and to spur economic growth by focusing funds on development and human capital. Though West Germany rearmament occurred in 1951 in reaction to the Korean War, West Germany’s military (and later reunified Germany’s) was willfully smaller in comparison to other NATO nations. This has continued to this day, where German spending on military as a percentage of GDP is significantly less than other industrialized nations (approximately 1.5% of GDP in 2003 compared to 4% in America, 2.4% in the UK). Further, “According to a Department of Defense report, Germany’s defense spending was 1.45% of GDP in 2003 and with $35 billion amounted to less than ten percent of US spending ($384 billion). The only US allies with a larger defense spending than Germany were France, the UK and Japan. As percentage of GDP, however, Germany’s defense spending is smaller than those of 21 US allies.” Politics and policy have been similarly affected: Germany participated in Operating Enduring Freedom because of NATO commitments, but was a staunch opponent of action against Iraq, leading to a freeze of relations between Germany and several countries.
Currently, the German economy is the fifth richest in the world per capita and third largest in the world by nominal GDP. Conversely, Germany is the 36th biggest provider of military and police contributions to UN efforts (in-between Rwanda at 35 and Slovakia at 37). Combined with NATO figures, Germany contributes approximately 6700 troops worldwide, including two thousand in Afghanistan. The invasion of Afghanistan, a multilateral operation agreed upon by NATO, serves as an excellent example. German assistance is done at considerable smaller percentages than other NATO nations, with 20 thousand originating from the United States, 2500 from Canada, and 1000 from Spain. Further, Romania, a country with an average income of $3000, contributed over 800 troops.
However, Germany is presently experiencing an economic stagnation combined with high unemployment. A logical part of the solution could be increased spending on military and efforts towards recruitment, especially in East Germany where poverty and joblessness has fueled the rise of Neo-Nazi groups. A simple rise to 2 percent of GDP spent on military, on par with other modernized nations, would mean an increase of 11 billion dollars.
German’s increased involvement worldwide will have numerous positive outcomes. Countries such as Romania and Slovakia, relatively new NATO and EU members, will not be forced to carry the burden that could be sufficiently executed by more traditional and developed countries such as Germany. This will buoy German position in its two most important member groups, NATO and the EU. Domestically, increased employment for able-bodied Germans will hinder extremism and the hostility in the reunified nation. Most importantly, Germany will emerge as a proactive, rather than reactive, member of the international community, contributing to the welfare of the globe and repairing its relations with the United States and Great Britain.
Sources:
http://www.cominganarchy.com/archives/2005/12/11/the-bundeswehrs-worldwide-missions/
http://www.cominganarchy.com/archives/2006/02/13/germanys-past-military-deployments/
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gm.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Germany_since_1945
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Security_Assistance_Force
http://www.nato.int/issues/afghanistan/index.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13135685/
Submitted to Carnival of German-American Relations
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