History Rears its Head: The Revival of German Militarism

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/waning-us-germany-must-learn-to-take-responsibility-a-1186075.html

There is nothing remarkable about this article. It is but part of a growing chorus calling for German militarism and rearmament. Aside from that ominous call, it tries to dress up the arguments with diplomatic lingo and pretentious ethics. It's a call for Germany to rise up and become once again... the master of Europe.

These are strange words to hear post-1945 but history has come full circle or to put it another way, it has reared its head.

The problems that arose with 19^th century German Unification will not go away. A colossal error was made in 1990 when Germany was allowed to reunify... and even worse join NATO.

A neutral Germany (akin to Switzerland) might have been able to avoid this trajectory, but probably not. Membership in the EU and NATO all but set Berlin on its present course.

It was inevitable that Germany would become the economic powerhouse of Europe and would ultimately ascend to political leadership. Eventually Berlin would want and indeed feel compelled to extend its power and influence both regionally and globally. In terms of NATO, the EU and other international organisations Germany cannot ascend to a leadership position without military investment and expansion. Germany has to 'have skin in the game' when it comes to Western imperialist ventures... masquerading as humanitarian interventions of course. Germany has to involve itself militarily in establishing relationships with trade partners. The military plays a significant role in the modern state and in particular within the capitalist system. It drives technology and is a tremendous source of both income and geopolitical influence.

For decades there have been forces within Germany that have wanted their nation, the heir of the Holy Roman Empire and Hohenzollern Prussia to return to its historically developed position. Historical that is, post-1871, with some terrible interludes.

The world wars cannot be solely blamed on Germany. That is irresponsible and inaccurate and yet German unification helped to set the stage for catastrophe and as Stephen Ambrose called it, European Civil War.

We are returning to that scenario. While both Paris and Berlin have wanted for some time to flex their muscles and re-assert themselves, they were for decades checked by British influence within the European political order. Within a relatively short time, Britain's influence has disappeared and the United States has effectively withdrawn. This is not due to official policy per se, but rather through the style and the signals being given by the Trump administration.

Those atop NATO and the Trans-Atlantic Establishment will all but wish for some kind of war or distraction to re-unite Europe because the project is teetering and is in danger.

A strengthened and assertive Berlin will likely lead to further tensions within the EU. There's great bitterness over the fact that within a century of the conclusion of World War II, Germany is all but ruling Europe. Another round of financial crisis and austerity could bring down the EU.

NATO has re-tooled itself into an Anti-Russia posture and has firmly established itself on the Eastern Frontier, the lands of the old Warsaw Pact. And yet, if Germany doesn't back the agenda, what then? NATO won't evaporate but the trust that has long undergirded the alliance and provided its strength will wither and wane.

Many believe Germany must step up and its era of altruism, passivity, reparation and war culpability has come to an end.

Merkel is hardly some kind of proto-fascist and a return to a threatening German militarism seems a long way off. And yet, the discussion is more viable today than it was just a few years ago. The right is on the rise and Neo-Fascism (represented by parties like the AfD) is standing tall in Germany.

This development would have been hard to imagine in the 1980's, but history is like that. Woe to those who refuse to study or learn its lessons. I morally celebrate a US withdrawal and decline and yet the dismantling of the American Empire could create as many problems as it solves.

There are no good solutions. We all have to live in this world and so we take interest in these developments but for me the point of concentration, the issues that really matter... concern the Church.

What will all of this mean for European Christianity?

It's too soon to tell.