The recently presented National Security Strategy makes it clear once again: “The high level of interdependence between external and internal security means that Germany’s ability to act externally also increasingly depends on its internal resilience. This resilience is the joint responsibility of the state, the private sector and society…”. However, this linkage between the civilian and the military side poses a challenge in Germany.
The reasons for this are obvious. Due to the end of the Cold War, many civilian, but also military actors, forgot how to cooperate. Joint exercises did not take place for a long time. Outdated guidelines for civil-military cooperation have not been renewed since 1989.
This is now changing. Although the former Minister of the Interior, Thomas de Maizière, was laughed at for his concept of civil defence. The Corona pandemic, the Ahr flood disaster and the Ukraine war have caused things to move. Cooperation between the military and civilian administration has arrived in the middle of society. While civilian administrations could rely on the Bundeswehr in disaster situations, the Bundeswehr is now asking for more support in its original task of alliance defence. For cooperation to work well in an emergency, it must be permanently practised. The exercises provide an opportunity for both sides to regain lost knowledge.
But it is not only knowledge that must be regained. Communication and communication channels must also be brought up to standard. In addition, in Germany there are the problems of a lack of personnel to protect critical infrastructure.
At Berlin Security Conference the panel “Comprehensive Territorial Defence” will deal with these framework conditions. What strategic, organisational and procurement adjustments are necessary to create a liable territorial defence?
With this variety of topics, upcoming Berlin Security Conference offers the ideal platform to learn about the future of armed forces, discuss developments and exchange best practice examples. And until August, registration is still possible at the cheaper Early Bird price.
Bennet Biskup-Klawon, editorial team