National interests in German security white books

Abstract

The German government has published ten white books on security since 1969. Read in sequence, they show how the definition of national interests has changed over the years. During the Cold War, national interests were politically taboo. The concept had been used as a justification for Nazi aggression. The new leadership wanted to show that the new Germany was a democratic ally and carefully refrained from invoking national interests. In the course of the years, these inhibitions were gradually cast aside as the official perception of Germany's international role changed from that of junior member of the Western community to key state.