The process of redefining the role of military means in Germany's foreign and security policy can be divided into three phases. This chapter considers the first phase: from German unification through 1994 when the German Constitutional Court ruled out-of-area deployments constitutional. Between 1990 and 1994 the paramount issues in the domestic German battle were the requirements of partnership and the lessons of Germany's past. The battle evolved around the attempt, launched by a handful of Conservative security experts, to win the political mainstream for an extended German role in...

The process of redefining the role of military means in Germany's foreign and security policy can be divided into three phases. This chapter considers the first phase: from German unification through 1994 when the German Constitutional Court ruled out-of-area deployments constitutional. Between 1990 and 1994 the paramount issues in the domestic German battle were the requirements of partnership and the lessons of Germany's past. The battle evolved around the attempt, launched by a handful of Conservative security experts, to win the political mainstream for an extended German role in international security. A majority on the left, however, remained opposed to any expansion of Germany's military role. Even after the Constitutional Court in 1994 ruled out-of-area deployments constitutional, German politics remained split on the issue.