ABSTRACT
The idea of non-offensive defence originated in Germany, indeed did so twice: in the 1950s and in the 1970s-1980s. This chapter looks at some of the distinguishing geopolitical, historical and foreign political features of Germany. It discusses some of the salient new themes in the security and defence political debate in the united Germany of the post-Cold War era. Geopolitically, Germany is almost predestined to be perceived as a threat by other states in her vicinity, a fact that translates into a "confidence-building imperative", with implications for the military as well as for the non-military realms. In the post-Cold War environment, the defence question has thus lost much of its former saliency, since the main threat to German security has vanished. Defensive territorial defence forces might remain under national command, but the "spiders" should be genuine collective security forces, made up of, say, French combat aircraft, Polish reconnaissance aircraft, American armoured forces, and German artillery.
