THE ROLE OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF DEFENSE (BMVg) IN SHAPING THE SECURITY POLICY OF GERMANY IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

The influence of the German Ministry of Defense on the state security policy in the first 15 years of this century was sabotaged by parliamentary groups: the Die Linke party, the Greens and the left-hand part of the SPD, supported by the greater part of society raised for years in the spirit of "civil society" (Zivilgesellschaft) and the "culture of restraint”. The reduction in budgetary expenditure on the armed forces has led to a reduction in the potential of the German armed forces and has questioned its credi-bility in the eyes of NATO and EU allies. Due to the development of the international situation and in-creasing tensions, and acting under pressure from allied France, the Merkel government in the past few years decided to spend significantly on arming and modernizing the army, which was always a postulate of the BMDVg, expressed in both White Papers and other documents. The real breakthrough came after Russia's aggression against Ukraine in 2022 when the government announced far-reaching spending on modernising the Bundeswehr.