Germany’s Rearmament Plan: A Problem of Bureaucracy

Yichuan Zhang

doi:10.54254/2753-7064/4/20220630

Research Article

Open access

Published on 17 May 2023

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Zhang,Y. (2023). Germany’s Rearmament Plan: A Problem of Bureaucracy. Communications in Humanities Research,4,418-425.

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Germany’s Rearmament Plan: A Problem of Bureaucracy

Yichuan Zhang *^,1,

¹ University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 400 4th Street, Ann Arbor, United States

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/4/20220630

Abstract

The conflict in Ukraine that started on February 24th, 2022, had a transformative effect on the status of European security policy, with the most prominent outcome being Germany’s break with its pacifist tradition and its policy of disarmament. The German government’s plan to rebuild the Bundeswehr by raising its defense spending to 2% of its GDP, alongside the injection of a 100-billion-euro fund into its armed forces, was seen by many as the first step for Germany to a leading role in the new European Security Policy. However, increased funding is unlikely to be the deciding factor in whether Germany can successfully rearm, as the Bundeswehr is well funded in comparison to other standing armies of European states in similar economic circumstances. The main obstacle standing in the way of a successful German rearmament is Germany’s bureaucracy. “The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support," or the BAAINBw, responsible for procurement of materials for the Bundeswehr, is fully anarchistic and understaffed. Germany’s path to a reformed military thus hinges on whether the German government can successfully reform the BAAINBw into a more efficient federal agency.

Keywords

Germany, Ukraine, rearmament

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Cite this article

Zhang,Y. (2023). Germany’s Rearmament Plan: A Problem of Bureaucracy. Communications in Humanities Research,4,418-425.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies (ICIHCS 2022), Part 2

Conference website: https://www.icihcs.org/

ISBN：978-1-915371-31-7(Print) / 978-1-915371-32-4(Online)

Conference date: 18 December 2022

Editor：Faraz Ali Bughio, David T. Mitchell

Series: Communications in Humanities Research

Volume number: Vol.4

ISSN：2753-7064(Print) / 2753-7072(Online)

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