The
discussion about the Bundeswehr reform came to a head in early September, as
the Minister of Defense, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, clarified his preferred
option for restructuring the armed services: He prefers a concept which would
reduce troop strength by one third (from 252,000 to 163,000 troops), and defer,
i.e. essentially abandon, the draft. The reform is part of the coalition
government's austerity drive. At the same time, the Minister would like to
boost Germany's
ability to effectively partake in international missions such as ISAF. With the
latter in mind, zu Guttenberg advocates an increased professionalization of the
Bundeswehr. In his opinion, the German armed forces of the future ought to be
ready to field 10,000 soldiers for deployment abroad at any given time, up from
the 7,000 currently available for such tasks (Zeit).
For most
Germans the Bundeswehr reform debate boils down to the simple question of what
is to become of the Wehrpflicht (conscription). For many young German men, the draft today is just a nuisance;
it is time lost that one could otherwise spend on pursuing a career. All male
German citizens above the age of 18 are subjected to the draft, and are either
sorted out (this segment has shown the largest growth in recent years), or
undergo basic training, or opt for alternative civilian service. As recently as
this summer, the service period was again reduced, from nine to six months.
While most young Germans are happy about reduced service, military experts
protest that half a year of service is simply insufficient to properly train
recruits (ZDF).
Across party
lines, political leaders in Germany
- from the head of the CDU/CSU Chief Whip in the Bundestag, Volker Kauder, to
SPD party head Sigmar Gabriel - are apprehensive about doing away with
conscription. After all, compulsory service is enshrined in the German
Constitution ("Basic Law"), intended to serve as a safeguard against any
political abuse of the armed forces. With Germany's historical experience
during the Nazi period in mind, the central idea is that, by having all male
citizens serve as soldiers, the Bundeswehr will be less prone to succumb to
temptations of militarist or extremist ideology. Not surprisingly, the
Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) issued a strongly worded appeal
calling for an "Anti-War Day" (on occasion of the anniversary of the beginning
of World War II in Europe on September 1st, 1939). The appeal stressed
both the publishers' rejection of any elimination of the Wehrpflicht, and of what the union leaders considered efforts to
turn the German military into an interventionist force globally (DGB).
According to
those in favor of eliminating conscription, however, the Wehrpflicht represents an anachronism in view of Germany's
democratic experience over the past 60 years (Financial
Times Deutschland). The Minister of Defense himself emphasized that the
draft has long ceased to fulfill its purpose. Only 13 to 16 percent of men over
the age of 18 actually undergo basic training today (Stern).
The reasons for this are manifold and compound the problem posed by low birth
rates and a decline in public health: For one, there is a constantly high number
of those who opt for alternative civilian service - the so-called Zivildienst. In Germany, the
abolition of the draft would have severe repercussions for the country's
welfare system. Many social facilities, such as nursing homes and hospitals,
rely heavily on the approximately 90,000 low-pay positions filled by the
so-called Zivis - the young men
performing community services in fulfillment of their Zivildienst duties (Spiegel).
As a result, CDU politicians, such as former Hesse Prime Minister Roland Koch
and Saar Prime Minister Peter Mueller, called for the introduction of an
obligatory "social year" to replace the alternative civilian service. For men
and women alike, this so-called "sozialer
Pflichtdienst" (obligatory social service) would aim at promoting social
cohesion, and compensate for the loss of today's Zivis (Tagesschau).
Given its
importance for domestic and foreign policy, the Bundeswehr reform has assumed
center stage in Berlin
in recent weeks. Zu Guttenberg's proposal to replace the compulsory service
with a volunteer force initially met with determined opposition also from the
two conservative parties (CDU and CSU). It was not until mid-September that the
head of the Defense Minister's own party - the CSU (Christian Social Union) -
Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer, grudgingly gave his blessings to zu
Guttenberg's plans (ZDF).
As was to be
expected, the opposition parties voiced severe misgivings about the Defense
Minister's reform plans, even though they also greatly disagree among
themselves. The SPD advocates cutting troop strength to 200,000, which means a
reduction of only half of what the Defense Ministry deems necessary. In
response, the Defense Policy Spokesman of the Green Party, Omid Nouripour,
referred to the SPD politicians as "Reformbremsen" (brakes on reform), and called upon the main opposition party to embrace more
radical reforms (Welt).
At the same
time, the SPD Defense Policy Spokesman, Rainer Arnold, insists that the Defense
Ministry's plans are unrealistic. According to his party's assessment, an
effective Bundeswehr would require hiring 175,000 professional soldiers and
keeping conscription in place to fill an additional 25,000 armed service
positions (Zeit).
The SPD argues that zu Guttenberg's reforms are more inspired by the
government's austerity program than by the wish to make the military more
effective. Any attempt to reform the Armed Forces ought to take place only in
close collaboration with NATO and the EU. However, the Bundeswehr should not be
transformed into "an interventionist force." The post-communist Left Party (DIE
LINKE) is even more outspoken in its criticism than the SPD. It claims that the
reform is geared toward turning the Bundeswehr into a military machine that
would actively engage in fighting more foreign wars. Only an uncompromising
abolition of conscription would bring about real progress (Stern).
In view of
the political reservations on the political right and left, the Defense
Minister has been careful to label the end to the compulsory service "a
deferment," and to avoid terms such as "termination", or "abolition." His plan
is to keep the Wehrpflicht as an
integral part of the German Basic Law. In the event of war, or any other
national security emergency, a simple majority in the Bundestag would suffice
to reinstate conscription (N24).
In essence,
the discussion surrounding the draft revolves around the question of what type
of military Germany will need in the future to live up to its changing
international role. Long used to depending on NATO and the United States to
provide for their protection, Germans are increasingly aware that they
themselves must step up to shoulder their share of the burden internationally.
Hence one of the main charges levied against the Defense Minister's reform
plans by the SPD is that they will detrimentally affect Germany's Buendnisfaehigkeit (ability to perform
in alliances) (Focus).
The Defense Minister maintains that he seeks to reform the military precisely
in order to improve Germany's
attractiveness as a partner in international coalitions (Bundesregierung).
After all, a purely professional German army would allow the government to
support NATO or US-led missions abroad to a far greater extent than is
currently the case (conscripts currently must not be sent abroad against their
will). A more professional Bundeswehr would also enhance the ability of western
alliance structures to better defend against new and emerging security threats,
such as international terrorism.
Photo licence: cc by Bundeswehr
- 2
