The Bundeswehr and Western Society

The West German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, comprise the largest conventional defense force in NATO Europe. They have become the linchpin of Western defense and will be even more central to European security in the 1990s as the Alliance moves toward a greater emphasis on conventional defense and a European pillar. Yet the Bundeswehr faces major challenges in both the international and domestic arenas as it adapts its strategy to Soviet 'New Thinking', American reappraisals of its role in Europe, shifts within Europe itself and a rapidly changing domestic context. This volume looks back at the development of the Bundeswehr within both West German society and the Western Alliance, and looks ahead to the implications of the changes in domestic politics, economics, demographics and public opinion for the Bundeswehr's future role in the alliance.