September 18, 2026

A Rearmed Germany's Place in Europe

By: Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend

Today we are taking a closer look at Germany as it returns to military power. As the United States pulls back from Europe and threats of Russian aggression are heightened, Germany has begun rearming after many decades of restraint. The country has made a constitutional change to allow debt funding for defense spending, published its first military strategy, and increased its defense budget by far higher rates than the average among other European members of NATO, hitting a 36-year high. Many argue that this is necessary to deter Russia and mitigate the risks of a U.S. retreat from European security.

But Germany’s domestic politics complicate the picture. On September 6, the far-right Alternative for Germany party took first place in state elections in eastern Germany, winning 44 percent of the vote. Germany is therefore being asked to assume a much larger role in European security while the political consensus that has underpinned its post-war foreign policy is coming under growing strain. So, what kind of military power is Germany becoming, and can Germany make the transition from decades of military restraint to becoming a country capable of leading and defending Europe?

To discuss all of this and her book, which answers all these questions, we’re very happy to welcome Liana Fix back to Brussels Sprouts.

Liana Fix is a senior fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she also leads the Securing Ukraine’s Future Initiative. She is the author of Germany Rearmed: The Return of War and the End of Illusions (Hurst, 2026).

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