In 1871, the many German states, previously divided and often at odds with each other, were united under the leadership of Prussia and Otto von Bismarck. Europe had long consisted of a strong France in the west, a divided series of weak states in central Europe and a strong Russia to the East. A united Germany radically changed the situation and led to new instability and a tightening of alliances. From 1871 until 1945, Europe struggled to find a new balance of power with room for a strong Germany and while balance has now come to Europe, the Germans themselves are nevertheless still searching for their proper role in Europe and indeed the world.

It is for these reasons that a seemingly innocuous and in fact logical step like creating a national security council has again sparked debate among citizens and politicians alike. At the moment, Germany has a Bundessicherheitsrat* (Federal Security Council) which deals mainly with the exports of arms. It is very different from what American or British readers would imagine when hearing the name. Over the past few years though, with the changes in both the domestic and international security situation, debate has been ongoing about whether Germany needs a National Security Council based more on the American model for example.

In 1998, the Red-Green coalition government (SPD and Green Party) laid out their ideas of the Bundessicherheitsrat in their coalition contract. It envisioned that the Bundessicherheitsrat took on more responsibility than its previous one of merely overseeing weapons exports. In 1998, the Red-Green government of the SPD-Grüne somewhat expanded its role* insofar as giving more weight to the domestic situation in countries purchasing German weapons. Yet, despite the name, it is still a far cry from what other countries have. To begin with, a national security council

is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a national security adviser and staffed with senior-level officials from military, diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement and other governmental bodies.

Indeed, the US model for example consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security adviser, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Director of National Intelligence, President’s Chief of Staff, Counsel and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Included in the Director of National Intelligence are the 16 agencies in the US Intelligence Community both foreign (CIA, NSA, etc) and domestic (FBI, DEA etc). Hence, both internal and external security issues are discussed and coordinated. This stands in contrast to Germany’s current system for example.

In Germany however, no such coordinating and advisory body exists. It is with that, and the changing nature of threats, in mind that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU – center right) has proposed* creating a U.S. style NSC. The proposal notes that “In order to guarantee coherent and effective interagency work combining both domestic and foreign security, a national security council is necessary as a center for political analysis, coordination and decision making” (my translation). Among other things, it will help to coordinate Germany’s domestic agencies like the Verfassungsschutz and Bundeskriminalamt (like the FBI) with the German military and Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND). As Volker Kauder, Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, noted, “Especially with the threat of global terrorism, it’s important to overcome the traditional boundaries between domestic and foreign security.” True enough, but that’s much easier said than done in post-WW2 Germany.

The proposal, under on and off discussion since 2004 and however logical to outsiders, deals with a very touchy. It has been subject to severe criticism by other parties like the SPD and FDP and has been met with skepticism by ordinary Germans. Remember, despite Germany’s previous military achievements in technology and fighting not to mention its world-renowned weapons manufacturers, Germany is still a country where only 62% of its men would fight to defend it and around 75% of the country thinks it is never acceptable to use violence to achieve important political goals. In fact, the German constitution explicitly states that no one can be forced to bear arms. It is with that in mind that critics say plans for an NSC must be done away with, that it is entirely unnecessary, that it could undermind Germany’s foreign policy and how much influence it would have on policy in relation to parliament. In addition, the opposition worries it would lead to more German military participation abroad and potentially use of the German army domestically (Germany has no national guard). Yet, Kauder and others ask about the increasing importance of energy security and “How should we react when China supports dictators to ensure access to raw materials?”

This Wednesday, May 7th, the CDU is holding a conference (English) to discuss their new 16 page Entwurf für eine Sicherheitsstrategie für Deutschland (Draft for a Security Strategy for Germany). The English description of the even is as follows:

Germany’s involvement in international peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and in the Balkans is the result of the new role our country has assumed in international security policy. The growing threat of terrorist activity, nuclear proliferation, dependency on certain countries for energy and raw materials and the consequences of climate change demand a comprehensive overhaul of our security policy concept. Current debates about the deployment of Bundeswehr troops demonstrate the need to improve communication about Germany’s security policy to the general public. A broad-based debate on security policy needs to be generated at all levels of society in order to reach a general consensus, on the basis of threat analyses and discussions into the appropriate response. In May, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group will therefore present a draft security strategy for Germany that will analyze security threats both domestic and foreign, both military and non-military, and present appropriate security policy solutions.

Check back later in the week for an update and more discussion on a potential German NSC and the CDUs proposals.

* link in German

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