ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with German security interests as they relate to nuclear deterrence or, perhaps more appropriately, nuclear dissuasion. The starting point for all reasoning about nuclear deterrence, its future role in East-West relations, and related German security interests is the inescapable acceptance of what might be called the "nuclear reality." By actively participating in Western nuclear planning, Germany's range of political options might actually be much wider than by gradually reducing its own weight and influence in this respect. The deployment of nonstrategic nuclear weapons on German soil is clearly in Germany's security interest. Since the use of nuclear weapons is associated with significant risks of self-destruction, maximum credibility of nuclear deterrence is associated with values of existential importance. In Europe, nuclear deterrence primarily contributes to general deterrence. A nuclear dissuasion regime can contribute significantly to the stabilization of a European security system.
