Concluding Remarks

Over the course of thirty years since the end of the Cold War, reunified Germany has become Europe’s indispensable power, performed a marked shift in its European and global role, and, as has been shown in this book, increasingly came to rely on its navy as an instrument of foreign policy. This ranged from international crisis response and contributing to comprehensive maritime security, to supporting EU and NATO collective defence. The shift in the political utility of the navy was significant both in effect and as an expression of Germany’s change. By tracing and analysing this development through missions, within the navy and related policy, this research endeavour adds its original findings based on hitherto unexplored case-studies to the wider understanding of navies in the 21st century, as well as to the role of German power in Europe and globally.