Germany's Grand Strategy

Germany's grand strategy—historically associated with two world wars and several genocides—is one of the most impactful but difficult phenomena in the history of international relations. Given its geographical, military, and economic limitations, why did the country perceive military might as the most effective means to shape its environment and ensure its security until the mid-twentieth century? Why did its political elites often fail, as in the Weimar Republic, but sometimes succeed in changing grand strategy, including after 1945?

Eric Sangar answers these questions by tracing the major developments in Germany's grand strategy since the Napoleonic wars and examining the perceived lessons of its national history. In particular, he explores the impact the resonance between historical lessons at the elite level and memory discourses in society has had on Germany's grand strategy. He argues that the current fragmentation of German collective memory can explain the contemporary gap between the ambitions of universalist leadership and their hesitant and, at times isolationist, practices. As Germany faces an increasingly uncertain regional and international environment, (re)building domestic support for a clearly articulated grand strategy seems more difficult than ever.