An Analysis Of NATO Policy After German Reunification

Germany,as the core country in Europe,NATO and EU,its foreign and security policy greatly influence the world.Germany was also the starter of two World Wars,which directly affected its security and defense policies afterwards.After World War II,Germany was divided into two countries.It did not return to stage reunified until 1990.Germany experienced three phrases,during which its security sovereignty was lost,regained partially and regained substantially.Meanwhile,Germany's foreign and security policy,especially on NATO,witnessed great changes.This paper focuses on analyzing Germany's NATO policy after its reunification based on its NATO policy before the Cold War.To begin with,this paper gives clear historical facts of the Federal Republic of Germany's policy towards NATO.The decision of joining NATO was made purposely when the Cold War broke out,which was also considered to be a decision that served FRG's benefits to the best extend.Rearmament through NATO helped the FRG to regain a part of its sovereignty in military and foreign affairs,at the same time,it protected the FRG from Soviet Union.As Germany reached reunification,and its power grew,the external security threats it faced changed,which made amendment on its NATO policy necessary.Specifically speaking,its policy changed from ‘completely NATO-favoured' to ‘Two Pillars Structure of NATO and EU'.Germany pursued transformation in NATO's main task,function as well as actions abroad.Simultaneously,it adjusted its own security system accordingly,meeting the demands of NATO and its national security.Angela Merkel has been in office for nearly 16 years.One of the topics emphasized in this paper is Germany's NATO policy during her regime.She followed the previous basic footprints of Germany's NATO policy,while adding her style of pragmatism and resilience.She insisted that NATO was indispensable,the defense in EU should be further developed,and Germany's self-interest should be given more attention.When Donald Trump took office,the policy of America First and unilateralism shook the German-US relation and deteriorated the relation between Germany and NATO.The development of the Common Security and Defense Policy within EU and turbulence of Germany-US relation bring more challenges to Germany's NATO policy.If the disagreement between Germany and the US keeps growing,the Germany-NATO relation would be more affected.But generally speaking,Germany's policy on NATO still remains stable.As Britain withdrew from the EU,Germany may play a more important role in NATO,at least from a short-term perspective.