ABSTRACT
Arms control always figured high on the list of priorities of Germany's foreign and security policy. Since the Cold War, German governments have made significant efforts to establish and strengthen a robust arms control architecture and cooperative security environment in Europe. However, the most important of these arms control agreements eroded during the past twenty years and, eventually, collapsed before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This chapter examines what Germany did to halt the disintegration of arms control. It demonstrates that Berlin's manifold and vigorous policies in coordination with like-minded partners to rescue and adapt these treaties found their limits when faced with contradicting policies of allies, in particular the United States. Confronted with the risk of a serious split of NATO, Germany always gave priority to maintaining alliance and transatlantic solidarity, which Berlin regards as indispensable to secure German independence and sovereignty. The chapter concludes that Germany is likely to continue pursuing arms control within these limits, but not risk weakening collective deterrence and defense to that end.
