The 2016 Weissbuch [defense white paper] represents a paradigm shift in two important respects. First, the latest Weissbuch acknowledges the possibility of Germany joining in coalitions of the willing in response to collective security crises. Indeed, the Weissbuch acknowledges an increasingly obvious reality: “ad hoc cooperation will continue to gain significance as an instrument of international crisis and conflict management.” What is perhaps most significant is the declaration that Germany will be willing to not simply participate in but also to initiate such coalitions. This is a major departure from the past, in which Germany consistently sought to exercise hard power solely through established multilateral institutions.
I'm all in favor of Germans understanding that military power to conquer and exterminate people is bad but that military power to resist enemies who want to conquer or exterminate people is good.
Pity Germany lacks a real military. Because without that, trying to act independently in support of national interests just angers enemies who have real militaries.
Is the German white paper a leading indicator of increased German military power or an exercise in studykrieg that hides the lack of action to create a real military?
