Publication

This commentary looks at Germany’s conflicted views about strengthening NATO’s eastern flank. On the one hand, Berlin has 1) ceased to perceive Russia as a partner and begun to view it as a threat to Europe’s security, and 2) partially succumbed to pressure from the US, Poland and the Baltic States to expand its military engagement in the region. On the other hand, Germany still doesn’t see its military involvement on the eastern flank as an attempt to deter Russia. If anything, it largely sees it as a gesture to reassure its skittish allies.