"Germany must become fit for war."

Boris Pistorius said this at the end of last year. Russia's attack on Ukraine has brought war back to Europe. But after the initial shock, the Chancellor's speech at the turning point and many discussions about helmets and battle tanks, Germany seems to have come to terms with the new situation.

"Two years after the start of the Russian war of aggression, a mood has formed in large parts of Germany that this war is here to stay. Far away, not directly affecting us, not existentially challenging our security, I think," says political scientist Jana Puglierin from the think tank ›European Council on Foreign Relations‹ in the podcast. That's why I think it's good that the Minister of Defense has made this so clear again."

The expert on security and defence policy makes a clear case for Germany to play a more active role in overcoming the challenges of a changed world order. NATO, she says, is still the institution that should take care of Europe's defense. But it can no longer be assumed that the United States will take on this task for Europe.

Germany as a central building block of European defence

Europe must take care of itself and form a European NATO focus, with Germany as a central building block – not only militarily, but also logistically and functionally in alliance with the EU states. To counter Russia's aggression. And to find a better way to deal with China's quest for an alternative world order.

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Jana Puglierin is a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Advisory Council of the Federal Republic of Germany, which deals with civilian crisis prevention and peacebuilding. In particular, she is concerned with the development of new strategies for Europe in the changing international order.

Photo: teutopress GmbH / teutopress / IMAGO

"I believe that China and Russia may not necessarily pursue their foreign policy in the sense of a large DAX company, but that they want to achieve political goals, even if this has economic costs," says Jana Puglierin. "Both countries are united by the anti-Western moment. This is shown by a quote from Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow in 2023, when he said to Putin at the end: "We are currently experiencing changes that we have not seen in 100 years. And the two of us are the driving forces behind it.'"

How do we deal with the fact that autocratic great powers such as Russia and China want to change our long-accustomed world order? Are we prepared for a more uncomfortable, unfriendly, economically far more difficult world? How much peaceful passivity can we still afford and how much active shaping do we have to do now? That's what Jana Puglierin talks about in this episode of Eight Billion.

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