Democracy and War: Politics and Identity in a Time of Global Threats

The moderate-right Christian Democratic Union will likely lead Germany’s new coalition government. In this book, Röttgen, a veteran German parliamentarian and one of the party’s leading foreign-policy thinkers, previews what lies ahead for the new government. His longtime criticism of German wishful thinking and strong advocacy for greater support for Ukraine, firmer opposition to Russia, and robust European rearmament—all positions endorsed by both the new government and German public opinion—lend his words more authority. He issues a damning indictment of the German government’s behavior during the first three years of the war in Ukraine: officials gave high-minded speeches about a historic Zeitenwende, or turning point, yet dragged their feet in providing concrete military aid. Röttgen offers little to placate Germany’s surging far-right populists or its moderates concerned about the costs of massive rearmament. He simply calls for more resolute political leadership. The next few months will see whether the CDU government rises to that challenge.