Why Is Germany Ambivalent Towards European Defense Integration?

In an article published by the Journal of European Integration, Centre of International Security Postdoctoral Researcher Dr. Tobias Bunde studies the factors contributing to Germany’s largely symbolic support of supranational European defence efforts. 

While general support for a cooperative security policy exists among the political elite as well as the general public in Germany, the country has mostly pushed for symbolic proposals and integration efforts without real teeth, trying to limit the costs of regulation and capacity-building on the supranational level. Bunde’s article, titled “Defending European Integration by (Symbolically) Integrating European Defence? Germany and Its Ambivalent Role in European Security and Defence Policy”, relies on numerous public opinion surveys and confidential interviews with German decision-makers to explain German preferences. 

The article, part of a special issue edited by Christian Freudlsperger and Markus Jachtenfuchs of the Hertie School’s Jacques Delors Centre, finds that ideational factors such as anti-militarist attitudes, the embeddedness of military planners in NATO planning procedures and a deep commitment to parliamentary control over armed forces act as barriers against facilitating integration on the EU level. While German politicians have been among the most vocal proponents of a “European army”, Germany has often acted as a brake for ambitious EU defence efforts, while the real progress has taken place in other (bilateral or minilateral and often German-led) frameworks. According to Bunde, “Berlin has thus contributed considerably to the increasing institutional fragmentation and territorial differentiation in European defence.”

The full article can be found here.