Cooperation of Germany with the USA and the UK in Security and Defence Sphere

Trunov Philipp

doi:10.20542/0131-2227-2025-69-8-36-46

Cooperation of Germany with the USA and the UK in Security and Defence Sphere

P. Trunov

Rubric: Europe: New Realities

DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2025-69-8-36-46

EDN: WXBYRV

Ph. Trunov, ORCID 0000-0001-7092-4864, 1trunov@mail.ru

Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences (INION RAS), 51/21, Nakhimovskii Prosp., Moscow, 117418, Russian Federation.

PDF (RUS)

Received 18.12.2024. Revised 06.04.2025. Accepted 15.05.2025.

Abstract. To recognize the West’s ability to maintain influence in the situation when the new world order is forming, it is important to understand the state and prospects of Germany–U.S. and Germany–UK cooperation. The article explores the process in the military and political fields since the second half of the 2010s, using the comparative analysis and the theory of neorealism (structural realism). During the Cold War, the large-scale participation of Germany in the deterrence in Europe has provided the USA a certain freedom of maneuver of forces at the global level. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the FRG has been trying to strengthen its positions at the global level, using the results of the partners` activity and optimizing the use of its own potential, especially the Bundeswehr. This strategy determined the growing discontent of the USA and the UK. They have encouraged Berlin to increase its military capabilities and to use them more actively in the interests of allies. The key demand has been the growing of financial and men contribution, participation of Germany in NATO activities, also in the deterrence of the West’s system opponents. This scheme was based on the logic of the Cold War cooperation. The forms of influence over Berlin changed noticeably from hard ones (the phenomena of Brexit and the policy of Donald Trump, the 45th U.S. president) to softer ones in the first half of the 2020s, but the goal remained unchanged. The article explores some results of the cooperation, their importance for the USA and the UK, the evolution of Germany’s relations with both countries as a group and separately. It is concluded that in the medium term, the Germany–U.S. and Germany–UK relations will combine elements of the dialogues which took place at the end of the 2010s and in the early 2020s.

Keywords: Germany, U.S., UK, Trump, Brexit, interstate dialogue, multilateralism, NATO, confrontations, Europe, Indo-Pacific region

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For citation:

Trunov P. Cooperation of Germany with the USA and the UK in Security and Defence Sphere. World Eсonomy and International Relations, 2025, vol. 69, no. 8, pp. 36-46. https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2025-69-8-36-46 EDN: WXBYRV

Contents World Eсonomy and International Relations. 2025, vol. 69, no. 8

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