No. 86 - 'The role of the armaments industry in the economy of the FRG

Institute for Western Affairs' Bulletin (No. 86/2012):  Dominik P. Jankowski  - 'The role of the armaments industry in the  economy of the FRG'

The development of the  German armaments industry has been related to the defense policy of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the role of its armed forces in national security since the reunification of the country in 1990. Taking into consideration Prussian and Nazi militarism, which was one of the main causes of both World Wars, the government in Berlin was very cautious about the promotion of the armaments industry and the role of the Bundeswehr was rather limited. The constitutional regulations constituted the basis for this approach  – the article 87a of the Fundamental Statute states that the military of the FRG can only be used in defensive actions. The defensive nature of the Bundeswehr was reinforced by the article 24.2, which states that the participation of the armed forces in military operations can take place only within the systems of collective defense and collective security. It was the verdict of the German Constitutional Tribunal from 1994 which gave the armed forces of the FRG the formal right to participate in foreign operations, but only within the collective systems (the UN, NATO and the EU). The decision of the Constitutional Tribunal, which allowed for the emancipation of the FRG’s security policy within less than a decade, also had an influence over the development of the armaments industry.