An urgent, incisive assessment of Germany’s return to military power and Europe’s security as Russian aggression rises and US reliability falters.

After eighty years of restraint, Germany is returning to military power. For many years, German political culture rested on the conviction that military force belonged to a darker past—and that security could be outsourced to the United States or replaced by trade and diplomacy. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Trump’s return to the White House have shattered these illusions.

The threat of Russian aggression and the risk of US abandonment have triggered a German rearmament of historic proportions. But this rearmament also poses a dilemma. With right-wing populism rising at home, can Germany assume a greater military role without reviving old fears among its neighbours or undermining European stability? Can it become a credible security provider while remaining firmly anchored in liberal democratic values?

This timely, important book analyses Germany’s foreign policy and its relationship with military power from 1945 to the present, and explores the choices and alternatives for European security in the next decade and beyond. Challenging Germany’s ‘myth of pacifism’, Liana Fix argues that, as the post-war order fades, Germany can—and must—become a military power capable of protecting Europe when America will not.

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'A convincing, highly valuable foray into the transformation of Germany from an anti-militarist society to a key military power in Europe--and what it means for the rest of us.'

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‘With the US in retreat, Europe faces its gravest strategic test since the Cold War. Liana Fix confronts the myths that shaped German foreign policy and lays out what is at stake if Germany fails to rise to the moment. A timely and important book.’

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'Germany's return as a military power will shape Europe and the Atlantic alliance for decades. Liana Fix offers a lucid, compelling, deeply informed account of this historic transformation--an indispensable guide to one of the defining geopolitical shifts of our time. Essential reading.'

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‘A rearmed Germany dominating Europe? A Germany without the West? For all who thought these worries belonged to the distant past, Liana Fix’s new book provides an insightful and sobering corrective. Highly recommended.’