Mitigating West Germany's Strategic Dilemmas

Abstract

This article identifies three strictly strategic dilemmas concerning West Germany's defense in the late eighties: the defense-protection dilemma, the arms control-security dilemma, and the strategy-resource dilemma. It briefly explains each dilemma and critically examines the major approaches to change under debate today, focusing on the contribution made by the "alternative defense" school. Concluding that none of these approaches can substantially alleviate West Germany's strategic dilemmas, the discussion turns to the idea of "structural incapability of attack," or "nonprovocative defense," as a possible basis for a solution. Having criticized this idea in its current form, the article ends by suggesting a strategically feasible way for both blocs to move toward force postures structurally incapable of attack at the conventional theater level in Europe.