In 2023, Germany’s much-heralded “Zeitenwende” or “turning point” in defense spending, a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is off to a slow start.
Despite the German Chancellor’s commitment to meeting NATO’s guideline of spending 2% of GDP on defense and establishing a €100 billion fund for the Bundeswehr, the rearmament plan has yet to begin. Germany’s bureaucratic weapons procurement process, coalition politics, and relationship with defense industries have prevented the government from taking action. The new German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, has a tough road ahead given Germans’ aversion to defense spending. The U.S. foreign policy establishment and the favorable strategic environment in Germany serve as disincentives to the well-stocked and supplied Bundeswehr that both Washington and Berlin claim to want.
