Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Germany. Bundeswehr'

In 1955, barely ten years after the end of the most devastating war in Modern German history, a new German military was established in the Federal Republic, the Bundeswehr. In order properly fill the ranks of this new military the government, under the leadership of Konrad Adenauer, believed that it would have to draft men from the West German population into military service. For the government in Bonn conscription was a double-edged sword, it would not only ensure that the Bundeswehr would receive the required number of recruits but it was also believed that conscription would guarantee that the Bundeswehr would be more democratic and therefore in tune with the policies of the new West German state. What this study seeks to explore is what the West German population thought of conscription. It will investigate who was for or against the draft and seek to determine the various socioeconomic factors that contributed to these decisions. Furthermore this study will examine the effect that the public opinion had on federal policy.

This thesis seeks to understand the developments in Germany’s foreign and security policy since the end of the Cold War. Primarily, this thesis will centre on the question of whether Germany can now, after being re-unified for more than 20 years, be considered a normal actor in international relations. Although this subject has been debated extensively, the effects a possible change in foreign policy behaviour has on related fields of policy, have largely been left aside. This thesis therefore sets out to understand if there has in fact been a change in Germany’s foreign and security policy and will then apply the findings on the institution most affected by this change, i.e. Germany’s armed forces the Bundeswehr. It will therefore firstly discuss the perceived changes in German foreign policy since 1990 by analysing the academic debate on the process of normalisation and continuation. It will be argued that Germany has in fact become more normal and abandoned the constrained foreign policy of the Cold-War-era. The Bundeswehr will therefore have to be reformed accordingly to accommodate the new tasks set out by the changed foreign policy – most importantly peacekeeping and peace-enforcing out-of-area missions. This thesis will therefore analyse the reform efforts made over the last 20 years and apply them to the Bundeswehr’s large deployments in Kosovo and Afghanistan to determine how effective the reforms have been. Finally, this thesis will be able to contribute to the discussion on Germany’s status of a normal player in international relations with the added perspective from the Bundeswehr’s point of view.

Obwohl die wenigen bisher erschienenen Studien zur Qualität von Inhalten in Wikis und besonders der Wikipedia ein hohes Potential für die Erstellung auch verlässlicher Inhalte vermuten lassen, existiert noch kein formales und anerkanntes Qualitätsmanagementsystem für partizipativ erstellte Inhalte im organisationsinternen Web 2.0. Im Rahmen der Erprobung eines Wiki-Services für das Intranet der Bundeswehr wird derzeit ein solches System entwickelt und im laufenden Experiment evaluiert.

Obwohl die wenigen bisher erschienenen Studien zur Qualität von Inhalten in Wikis und besonders der Wikipedia ein hohes Potential für die Erstellung auch verlässlicher Inhalte vermuten lassen, existiert noch kein formales und anerkanntes Qualitätsmanagementsystem für partizipativ erstellte Inhalte im organisationsinternen Web 2.0. Im Rahmen der Erprobung eines Wiki-Services für das Intranet der Bundeswehr wird derzeit ein solches System entwickelt und im laufenden Experiment evaluiert.

The thesis sets out to mobilise the concept of strategic culture as a tool to understand German security policy. The main assumptions behind the concept of strategic culture are that security policies emanate from collectively held beliefs and values relating to the use of force and that these values and beliefs emerge over-time and are shaped through formative periods and critical junctures, especially at times of war. Building upon these key assumptions the thesis moves to identify the antecedents of (West) German strategic and then to construct a framework for analysis to apply to aspects of post-Cold War security policy. Three central research questions guide the conduct of the study: What is German strategic culture? Has it changed through the ending of the Cold War? And How does it impact upon behaviour? The thesis holds that Germany has a distinct strategic culture, which emerged in the wake of the Second W orId War and acquired substance and form through the rearming of West Germany in the 1950's. This strategic culture, it is argued, incorporates three types of elements. At its core are beliefs and values relating to the use of force that form its basal fabric, stemming out of this are a range of dispositions or 'security policy standpoints' that actively relate core values to the third element of strategic culture the observable policy manifestations. The thesis identifies (West) German strategic culture through an examination of aspects of the rearming of West Germany which is then presented in the form of a full anatomy of the strategic culture and its constituent parts. Subsequent to this the thesis tackles the issue of change after the Cold War and the relationship between strategic culture and security policy behaviour. These two questions are dealt with through an examination of the transformation of the Bundeswehr since 1990, together with a case study of the· practice of compulsory military service, a policy that has endured since the end of the Cold War. Through its investigation the thesis argues that German strategic culture has persisted after the ending of the Cold War and has come to playa decisive role in shaping security policy behaviour

This thesis investigates the intellectual foundations of the thinking of the father of the modern West German armed forces, Wolf Graf von Baudissin, during their establishment between 1951 and 1956. Its aim is to identify the main areas of reform as advocated by Baudissin as well as to shed light on central features of Baudissin's character and ideas, primarily his ideas on the role and impact of democracy in a modern society. The thesis demonstrates how the environment in which Baudissin operated was characterised by strong opposition to new ideas by former Wehrmacht soldiers, whose ideas belonged to a traditionalist movement of military thinking. It also reveals how Baudissin's ideas were to a large extent the product of collaboration with a great number of politicians, academics and intellectuals, some of whom dominated the intellectual scene of the early post-1945 Federal Republic. The thesis demonstrates how Baudissin's thinking was influenced by certain polarities, out of which he developed three historical types of soldiers as an intellectual response to opposition. Baudissin's proposals for reform were directed towards the German youth as those who were to build the new West German post-war society. He stressed the extensive democratic rights allocated by the Federal Republic's constitution and the positive educational value of the proposed reforms, all in the face of accusations that they were utopian. Investigating Baudissin's intellectual foundations, the thesis stresses Baudissin's positive image of occidental culture, with a strong attachment to ethical and communitarian values, and a negative image of Russia as the exponent of communism and authoritarianism. Looking specifically at democracy, the thesis highlights Baudissin's emphasis on democracy by proclaiming that his conversion to democracy was the product of amalgamation of pre-war conservative thinking with modern democratic liberalism. The thesis finally argues that the overall image of an ethical-democratic citizensoldier, the 'Staatsbürger in Uniform' negates the historical antinomy between the condition of being a soldier and a citizen.

The article mobilises the concept of strategic culture in order to identify the impact of history upon contemporary security policy. The article will first look at the "wholesale construction" of a strategic culture after the Second World War in West Germany before exploring its impact upon security policy since the end of the Cold War in two areas: the Bundeswehr's out-of-area role and conscription. The central argument presented here is that the strategic culture of the former Federal Republic now writ large on to the new united Germany sets the context within which security policies are designed. This strategic culture, as will be argued, acts as both a facilitating and a restraining variable on behaviour, making certain policy options possible and others impossible.

Über den Einsatz bewaffneter Bundeswehrsoldaten im Ausland entscheidet der Bundestag. Die demokratische Legitimität von Bundeswehreinsätzen beruht daher auf der parlamentarischen Mehrheitsentscheidung. Doch durch die Auslagerung von Entscheidungen auf multinationale Sicherheitssysteme, wie die NATO und die EU, ergeben sich Handlungsbeschränkungen für das deutsche Parlament. In dieser Publikation analysiert die Politikwissenschaftlerin Martina Kolanoski die tatsächliche Entscheidungsmacht des Bundestags am Beispiel von Bundeswehreinsätzen im Rahmen der Europäische Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik (ESVP). Sie zeigt, weshalb die parlamentarischen Einflüssmöglichkeiten nur sehr begrenzt sind und argumentiert damit gegen die These des Parlamentarischen Friedens. Die Weiterentwicklung der ESVP durch den Vertrag von Lissabon, die multinationale Streitkräfteintegration, das Konzept der European Battlegroups und der deutsche Entscheidungsprozess zur EU-Mission EUFOR RD Congo werden auf die Frage hin untersucht, ob die Einsatzentscheidung durch politische und/oder militärische Integration vorweg genommen wird.

This thesis is a study of the role of policy leadership in German defence and security policy between 1990 and 2002, with particular reference to reform of the Bundeswehr. It situates this case study in the framework of a set of analytical perspectives about policy change derived from public policy theory, arguing that public policy theory has either underestimated policy leadership or failed to discriminate different leadership roles, styles and strategies. The author rejects the dominant contextualist and culturalist approach to leadership in studies of German defence and security policy in favour of an interactionist approach that stresses the dialectical interaction between policy skills and strategic context. The case study also shifts the focus in studies of policy leadership in Germany away from a preoccupation with the Chancellor to the role of ministerial and administrative leadership within the core executive. The thesis illustrates the strongly self-referential nature of Bundeswehr reform, despite adaptational pressures from Europeanisation and 'NATO-isation', and the domestic politics of base closures. It also shows how domestic macro-political arrangements predispose leadership roles in German defence and security policy towards brokerage and veto playing rather than towards entrepreneurship.

Wie die meisten westlichen Streitkräfte, bewegt sich die Bundeswehr im Spannungsfeld zwischen hohem Personalbedarf und Fachkräftemangel. Durch ein Onlineassessment kann der Bewerbungsprozess dahingehend optimiert werden, dass fähiges Personal schneller gebunden wird. Onlineassessment hat diverse Vorteile, gleichzeitig sind damit jedoch Herausforderungen verbunden. Die wahrscheinlich größte ist es, Betrug zu minimieren, da Onlineassessment in einer weitestgehend unkontrollierten Umgebung stattfindet. Zur Entgegnung dieser Problematik dienen verschiedene Ansätze, wie beispielsweise große Itempools, wodurch einer Verbreitung der Lösung im Internet entgegengewirkt werden kann. Dieser Ansatz ist jedoch mit hohen Kosten verbunden. Automatische Itemgenerierung hingegen ermöglicht es, kostengünstig und zeiteffizient psychometrisch hochwertige Items zu erstellen. Aus diesem Grund wurden in der vorliegenden Arbeit zwei Arbeitsgedächtnistests mit automatischer Itemgenerierung für das Onlineassessment der Bundeswehr entwickelt und evaluiert, mit dem Ziel einer hohen prädiktiven Validität auf die Diagnostik vor Ort. In der ersten Studie (N = 330) wurde gezeigt, dass automatische Itemgenerierung für die entwickelten Arbeitsgedächtnistests eingesetzt werden kann. Hierbei wurden zudem zwei verschiedene zeitliche Varianten untersucht, wobei sich diejenige mit der längeren Stimulusrepräsentationszeit als vorteilhafter erwies. In der zweiten Studie (N = 621) wurden Nachweise für Reliabilität und Validität erbracht. Die Tests zeigten eine gute konvergente und diskriminante Validität. Zudem konnte einer der beiden Tests eine sehr gute prädiktive Validität aufweisen. Unter Gesamtberücksichtigung der Testgütekriterien wurde dieser Test schließlich für das Onlineassessment der Bundeswehr vorgeschlagen. Somit steht der Bundeswehr nun ein wissenschaftlich fundierter Arbeitsgedächtnistest für das Onlineassessment zur Verfügung.
Like most Western armed forces, the Bundeswehr faces both high personnel requirements and a shortage of skilled personnel. Online assessment can optimize the application process to ensure that capable personnel are retained more quickly. Online assessment has various advantages, but also challenges associated with it. Probably the biggest of these challenges is minimizing cheating, as online assessment takes place in a largely unsupervised environment. Various approaches are used to counter this problem, such as large item pools, which can be used to counter the dissemination of solutions on the Internet. However, this approach is associated with high costs. Automatic item generation, on the other hand, makes it possible to create psychometrically high-quality items in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. For this reason, two working memory tests with automatic item generation for the German Armed Forces’ online assessment were developed and evaluated in the present study, with the aim of matching the high predictive validity of on-site diagnostics. The first study (N = 330) demonstrated that automatic item generation can be used for the developed working memory tests. Two different temporal variants were also investigated, with the longer stimulus presentation time proving to be more beneficial. The second study (N = 621) provided reliability and validity evidence. The tests showed good convergent and discriminant validity. In addition, one of the two tests demonstrated very good predictive validity. Taking into account the overall test quality criteria, this test was ultimately proposed for use in the German Armed Forces’ online assessment. Thus, the Bundeswehr now has a scientifically-grounded working memory test available for its online assessment.

This study examines the new German 2016 White Paper on German Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr. Updated for the first time in over a decade, the document reflects Germany’s reorientation of its security policy in order to become a global player. This study analyzes the White Paper to determine its contextual meaning, domestic as well as international support, and obstacles in the way of its implementation. Although the German Government is concerned about waning US influence and increased Russian activity, the German people are reluctant to let go of their nation’s foreign political restraint in light of a lingering feeling of historical responsibility going back their Fascist past and to WWII. The international and European reaction to the White Paper is largely positive and hails Germany as a defender of Western Liberalism. Russia is less enthusiastic and has embraced information warfare as a means of displaying its displeasure. The study finds that resolving these issues will prove critical for the practical success of failure in implanting the designs of the White Paper.

Du réarmement de l’Allemagne fédérale en 1955 jusqu’aux nouvelles missions actuelles à l’étranger mandatées par une organisation internationale et au nom de la défense des droits de l’homme, la Bundeswehr a accompli une évolution singulière, différente des armées des autres nations. Créée de toutes pièces, après la défaite de la 2e guerre mondiale, selon une conception tout opposée à la Wehrmacht et sous la contrainte qu’imposait la Guerre froide, elle s’est ensuite adaptée au gré des menaces et des détentes, mais sans jamais avoir d’autres missions que celle pour laquelle elle a été conçue : défendre l’Europe au sein de l’Alliance atlantique contre l’expansionnisme communiste. La RFA a cherché à se positionner parmi les nations non-nucléaires de l’OTAN et tout en tentant de participer la décision en matière nucléaire. Elle a cherché à faire valoir ses intérêts à travers l’influence que les gouvernements et les chanceliers de tous bords se succédant ont pu exercer sur les deux puissances à l’Est et à l’Ouest, mais aussi à travers l’engagement résolu pour la construction européenne, en concert avec la France. Elle a fait de même par les positions que ses ministres de la Défense et ses représentants civils et militaires ont occupées au sein de l’OTAN. Cette remarquable continuité a abouti à la chute du mur de Berlin et à la fin du monde bipolaire. La Bundeswehr a dû en conséquence à l’instar de son organisme de tutelle, l’Alliance atlantique, se redéfinir et prendre des responsabilités plus importantes dans les conflits européens et mondiaux, sans pour autant abandonner sa doctrine initiale liée à la « Loi fondamentale »
From the rearmament of Western Germany in 1955 to the today « new missions » under UN mandate and on behalf of the protection of human rights, the “Bundeswehr”, i.e. the German Armed Forces, has been evolving in quite a different way from the other nations. As a matter of fact, the Bundeswehr was set up from scratch after the World War 2 defeat as an armed force based on a conception opposite of the previous Wehrmacht and under the constraints of the Cold War. It then tried to adapt to the various threats and policies of détente but without diverging from its fundamental mission: the defence of the European territory against communist expansion. At that time, Western Germany tried to find its place among the NATO non nuclear States while participating in the nuclear decision making process. It also pushed forward its national interests through the particular influence of its governments and prime ministers on both western and eastern nations and helped promote the EU construction in cooperation with France. It conducted the same policy within NATO. This remarkable political continuity led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the bipolar world. From that moment on, the Bundeswehr had, just as NATO, to redefine and accept wider responsibilities in European and world conflicts while maintaining its original political doctrine enshrined in its Fundamental Law

Rozprawa doktorska pt. „Ekonomizacja polityki bezpieczeństwa Niemiec w latach 1998-2013” podejmuje szereg problemów. Najważniejsze i centralne pytania dotyczą hierarchii interesów polityki zagranicznej i bezpieczeństwa Niemiec – jakie są i jak kształtują się priorytety oraz z czego wynikają? Jaki wpływ na nie mają uwarunkowania wewnętrzne i zewnętrzne polityki bezpieczeństwa Niemiec? Jaką rolę odgrywają gospodarka i handel międzynarodowy, a jaką wartości i normy ukształtowane pod wpływem doświadczeń II wojny światowej? Czy w przyjętym okresie dokonały się zmiany w tym zakresie? Autorka wychodzi z założenia, że specyfiką polityki bezpieczeństwa Niemiec do 1998 r. było to, że jej priorytety wynikały z wartości i opierały się na celach takich jak demokratyzacja, promocja praw człowieka i pokoju, umacnianie prawa międzynarodowego i instytucji międzynarodowych. Interesy gospodarcze Niemiec zajmowały drugie miejsce w sferze działań i przede wszystkim deklaracji.Od czasu dojścia do władzy ekipy Gerharda Schrödera doszło do stopniowej zmiany polityki bezpieczeństwa RFN poprzez jej ekonomizację. W pracy przyjęto rozumienie ekonomizacji jako procesu dwustopniowego. Po pierwsze, w jej wyniku dochodzi do aprecjacji interesów gospodarczych w polityce zagranicznej i bezpieczeństwa państw. Takie kwestie jak handel międzynarodowy czy dostęp do surowców i bezpieczeństwo szlaków dostaw stają się priorytetami. W razie sprzeczności między interesami gospodarczymi a innymi, przykładowo zachowaniem solidarności sojuszniczej czy promowaniem ochrony praw człowieka, realizowane są przede wszystkim te pierwsze. Drugi aspekt polega na takim kształtowaniu oraz wykorzystywaniu narzędzi polityki zagranicznej i bezpieczeństwa, aby zapewnić realizację interesów gospodarczych. W rozprawie zweryfikowano hipotezę postępującego procesu ekonomizacji polityki bezpieczeństwa Niemiec. Pomimo, że w warstwie dyskursu najważniejsze pozostają interesy wynikające z wartości (chociaż doszło do pewnej aprecjacji interesów gospodarczych), to po pierwsze, obecnie działaniami Niemiec w sferze polityki bezpieczeństwa w większym stopniu kierują interesy gospodarcze niż te wynikające z wartości; po drugie, narzędzia polityki bezpieczeństwa są rozwijane i wykorzystywane stosownie do nowej hierarchii interesów.Praca odwołuje się do koncepcji mocarstwa cywilnego i prowadzonej przez nie polityki opartej na wartościach – Wertepolitik. Zidentyfikowano dwie grupy interesów polityki bezpieczeństwa, aby móc ustalić ich hierarchię. Jeśli chodzi o interesy o charakterze gospodarczym, były to: zapewnienie otwartego handlu, utrzymanie stabilności partnerów handlowych, bezpieczeństwo szlaków handlowych oraz zapewnienie bezpieczeństwa energetycznego. W opozycji do nich znalazły się cele Wertepolitik, utożsamiane z interesami wspólnoty międzynarodowej, opierające się przede wszystkim na uniwersalnych wartościach. Były to działania na rzecz: pokoju, demokratyzacji, praw człowieka oraz przestrzegania prawa międzynarodowego, a także model operowania: multilateralizm.W związku z budową hipotezy, wnioski z pracy zostały podzielone na dwie grupy: po pierwsze, te dotyczące deklarowanych priorytetów polityki bezpieczeństwa; po drugie – te, które odnoszą się do realizacji założeń.
Doctoral thesis “The Economisation of German Security Policy 1998-2013” concerns a number of problems. The focal question refers to the hierarchy of interests in German foreign and security policy – what are its priorities, how do they develop and what are their origins? What is the influence of internal and external factors shaping German security policy? What is the role of economy and international trade on the one side; values and norms stemming from experiences of the Second World War on the other? Were there any changes in this regard in the relevant timeframe?The author assumed that the peculiarity of German security policy until 1998 was the fact that its priorities stemmed from values and took the form of goals such as democratization, promotion of human rights and peace as well as strengthening international law and international institutions. German economic interests took second place in terms of actions, but first and foremost – in declarations.Starting with the formation of Gerhard Schröder’s government, a gradual change to the German security policy has occurred: economisation. For the purposes of this thesis, economisation is understood as a two-stage process. Firstly, due to economisation, there occurs a gradual appreciation of economic interests in foreign and security policies of states. Issues such as international trade, access to natural resources and the security of trade routes become priorities. If there is a collision between economic interests and other interests, like demonstrating solidarity with an ally or promoting human rights, the former are assured in the first place. The second aspect of economisation consist of shaping and using foreign and security policy tools in a way to ensure pursuing economic interests – most of all.In this thesis, the author verifies the hypothesis of gradual economisation of German foreign and security policy. Even though in the discourse the value-based interests remain the most important (although economic interests did gain more exposure), firstly – economic interests shape German security policy to a greater extent than value-based interests do; secondly – security policy tools are developed and used in accordance with the new hierarchy of interests.The thesis builds on the concept of civilian power and its value-based policy – Wertepolitik. Two groups of security policy interests were identified in order to analyze which were given priority. When it comes to economic interests, particular goals included: protecting free trade, ensuring stability of trade partners, ensuring security of trade routes and ensuring energy security. The second group consisted of the goals of Wertepolitik, associated the interests of the international community and based on universal values. They included: ensuring peace, democratization, promoting human rights and observing the norms of international law, as well as the operational model: multilateralism.Due to the wording of the hypothesis, the conclusions were divided into two groups. The first refers to the declared security policy priorities, the second – to the implementation of those declarations.

This diploma thesis deals with German security and foreign policy in the period from its reunification in 1990 until now and focuses on deployment of German soldiers abroad. The aim of this thesis is to analyse eleven most important cases, in which Germany decided to support military missions abroad and to find out if in the decision making process were prevailing normatively guided factors corresponding with concepts of multilateralism, civilian power and antimilitarism or pragmatic guided factors regarding rather economical, geopolitical or other interests. The chosen cases are analysed using single-case studies and sorted into three subchapters following the terms of office of German chancellors. The results of these analyses are presented in the form of a table.

Amidst the confrontation between the East and the West Bloc during the Cold War, the decolonization of Africa created an entirely new ideological battlefield for these two sides to compete with one another for power and influence. The Federal Republic of Germany, having been allowed to rearm its military less than a decade prior, sought to gain influence in Nigeria and Tanzania by providing them with military aid. However, in both cases it failed to fulfill its promises of aid. Through the examination of these case studies, this study argues that the Federal Republic’s ability to provide effective military aid to non-NATO countries was limited due to the combination of its cautious foreign policy and the dynamic political landscape of the countries to which it offered aid. Formerly classified government documents and newspaper articles constitute the majority of this study’s source material. While current historiography focuses on the impact of the Cold War superpowers in regions outside of Europe, less attention has been given to the important roles that smaller powers such as the Federal Republic have played. By analyzing a smaller global player, the goal of this study is to complicate the notion of the Cold War being binary in nature. Furthermore, it aims to illustrate the political tightrope that the Federal Republic walked when conducting military aid which stemmed from the legacy of its violent past and its status as a divided nation.

"Singe, Göttin, den Zorn des thymiotischen Sloterdijk ... Jetzt wo mit der Verleihung des Tapferkeitsordens die Belohnungsstruktur der Leistungsgesellschaft auch in der Bundeswehr angekommen ist, lohnt es sich vielleicht mal wieder, über Helden nachzudenken. Vorgedacht haben dies bekanntlich die Amerikaner..."