Strategic Cultural Change and the Challenge for Security Policy : Germany and the Bundeswehr's Deployment to Afghanistan

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. The military culture, strategy and foreign policy of many nations has evolved since the events of 9/11. While Germany is seen as the as the most important lead nation in the current European debt crisis and in European economic matters, it is still often perceived as an unreliable and hesitant alliance partner in security affairs. However, the tremendous challenge of Afghanistan, most importantly the violent mission reality, has changed the Federal Republic's strategic culture, i.e. the way it looks at the use of military force. This book analyses this change in detail and explores the wider challenge of balancing culture and strategy for different global states in the midst of a global war against terrorism. It explores and answers critical questions including; has the Federal Republic become a 'normal' power that does not shy away from fighting counterinsurgencies and using the military to advance and protect its interests, and how did the lessons learned in Afghanistan change this, and other countries' strategic outlook and its armed forces? (site de l'éditeur) Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Introduction....Pages 1-4 On the Cultural Foundations of Warfare....Pages 5-25 Setting the Scene: The US War on Terrorism....Pages 26-40 Alliance Solidarity after 9/11....Pages 41-81 Escalation in Afghanistan....Pages 82-105 The Stabilization Narrative Explodes....Pages 106-136 German Forms of Counterinsurgency....Pages 137-170 Afghanistan’s Legacy?....Pages 171-185 Conclusion....Pages 186-198 Back Matter....Pages 199-256 For more than a decade, international troops have been deployed to Afghanistan. Out of all NATO members, this mission was the most difficult for Germany that had thus far never engaged in combat and offensive military activities. This book analyses how Germany's experiences in Afghanistan have changed the country's strategic culture.