Russia has continued to loom large for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as a strategic and security challenge, despite the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union (USSR) more than three decades ago. NATO’s interventions in the Balkans during the 1990s and its subsequent eastward expansion provoked strong resistance from Russia. Over time, Moscow’s pushback against NATO enlargement has led to direct military action. It invaded Georgia in 2008, seized parts of Ukraine in 2014, and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a war that continues today. In this context, Germany’s role in maintaining the European balance of power is vital. In 2024, Berlin spent US$88 billion on defence, becoming the fourth largest military spender in the world. While this figure marginally falls short of NATO’s minimum spending of 2 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), there are optimistic indicators that Germany is starting to pull its weight as a strategic actor. And this is not without precedent. The end of World War II left Germany divided between the Eastern part (occupied by the Soviet Union) and the Western part (aligned with the US-led NATO alliance) from 1949. Although defence expenditure-related data during the 1950s is scant or non-existent, data on military spending from 1960 onwards reveal that West Germany, despite constituting only one half of the Teutonic state, was vital to the balance of power in Europe against the Soviet military threat during the Cold War (CW). (…) Beyond its impact on the European balance of power and security, Berlin’s growing military strength can also be a key area of cooperation with India.
Rise of German Military Power and the India Opportunity (Kartik Bommakanti – Observer Research Foundation)
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