Germany is not "not affected"

"What do the upheavals of the current security policy situation mean for Germany?"

You have to ask this question: War and crisis centres around the world have a global impact. They also affect Germany and Europe, even if there are political voices that want to deny this. The question is not whether our society, economy and politics are affected by crises and war, but how.

Inspired by this, the German Maritime Institute also posed a topical question on the security policy situation in the third edition of its "Institute Plenum". The realisation is that, as the largest country in the centre of Europe, we are always affected by all international crises. "Surely there are some interesting perspectives on this" was the approach: so on 7 May, the internal and invited group of experts gathered at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College for an exchange of views.

Rear Admiral (ret.) Karsten Schneider, President of the DMI, welcomed the attendees and the host's representative, Captain z. S. Dr André Pecher, Acting Head of Research, German Institute for Defence Studies, to an intensive afternoon of discussion. The moderator was Frigate Captain Dr Heiko Herold.

The first lecture with the question "Where is the USA heading under President Donald Trump?" by Frigate Captain Klaus Lund, Commander of the Flying Group of Naval Air Wing 3 "Graf Zeppelin", was a very personal insight into American society. Klaus Lund looks back on a stay at the elite Yale University and is in close contact with the allies, not least because of the Boeing P8 armament procurement for his unit. His picture was less a treatise on security policy than a structured observation of social developments from personal experience

Yu-Shun Chen and Dr Sebastian Bruns

Dr Sebastian Bruns from the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK) stood in for Julian Pawlak, who was unable to attend. His insights into American security interests are characterised by several years of academic work in the USA, including as a visiting professor at the US Naval Academy. He answered the question of whether "American action is the retreat of American naval power?" and what challenges arise for the conventional defence of the "European peninsula" from a European perspective.

The Asian perspective was presented to the audience by Yu-Shun Chen. The Director General of the Taipei Representation in Hamburg presented Taiwan's interests in very personal and reserved words. His view of things is highly topical from a German perspective. The Indo-Pacific deployment of the German Navy and German interests in the Far East were the topics of discussion. The relationship with China was of particular interest to the audience.

A very fulfilling afternoon for the maritime community around the DMI, but not for the public.

3rd Institute Plenum of the German Maritime Institute

Text: hsc / Photos: Brüdegam