Other

BBC World Service South Asia

The Documentary

Documentaries

Factual

Investigating global developments, issues and affairs.

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

The Documentary: Germany: Reluctant Giant

Germany – Reluctant Giant

20/06/2017 GMT

Germany: Reluctant Giant

BBC World Service - The Documentary, Germany: Reluctant Giant

Why does Germany fear becoming a military power?

Why is Germany such a reluctant military power? Germany has grown in international influence. And its potential military role has been hitting the headlines. US President Donald Trump’s criticised Germany in particular for not spending enough on defence. And Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that Europe can no longer completely depend on the US  - or the UK after Brexit. Germany, she argues, must do more in the military sphere.

But Germans themselves are very reluctant to do this. As Chris Bowlby discovers in this documentary, German pacifism has grown since World War Two, when Nazi armies caused such devastation. Today’s German army, the Bundeswehr, was meant to be a model citizen's force. But it’s often poorly funded and treated with suspicion by its own population.

Some now say the world of Trump, Putin and Brexit demands major change in German thinking - much more spending, more Bundeswehr deployments abroad, even German nuclear weapons. But most Germans disagree. So could Germany in fact be trying something historically new - becoming a major power without fighting wars?

(Photo: German Bundestag. Credit: Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Documentary

Germany: Reluctant Giant

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service South Asia

About BBC World Service