Event Summary
"Beyond Zeitenwende: What Structures Are Needed to Implement Germany’s New National Security Strategy?" – Transcript of the MSC Nightcap at DFS 2022
On May 17, 2022, the Munich Security Conference hosted a nightcap session on Germany’s national security architecture at the German Forum on Security Policy. Read the full transcript of the event below.
The mechanisms for coordination on national security policy have been a subject of debate in Germany for more than 20 years. So far, the status quo, with minor adjustments, has prevailed, not least because key actors in Berlin have seen changes to the existing system as a zero sum game. The question is whether Germany’s first-ever national security strategy will make a difference. Cleary, implementing the new strategy document will require a whole-of government approach.
In order to provide input to the ongoing debate, and drawing on UK and US experiences, MSC Vice-Chairman Boris Ruge moderated a discussion with Lord Peter Ricketts, former UK National Security Adviser, Julia Friedlander, former director on the US National Security Council, and Gerhard Conrad, former senior intelligence official and intelligence advisor to the MSC. Key points raised in the discussion were the increasing complexity of national security issues, the larger number of actors who need to be brought into the picture, the importance of integrating intelligence into national security processes, and accountability.
