'Zeitenwende or Continuity? Germany’s Quest for a Grand Strategy' with Professor Marina Henke

The DAAD-University of Cambridge Research Hub for German Studies and the Centre for Geopolitics are delighted to welcome Professor Marina Henke to Cambridge to give a lecture on ‘Zeitenwende or continuity? Germany’s quest for a Grand Strategy’. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s assumption of office in 2025 was quickly followed by one of the most dramatic turns in German defence policy in decades. His government has pushed through a record €108 billion defence budget for 2026 and pledged to sustain such levels indefinitely. Yet while these moves suggest a bolder strategic posture, the question persists: do they mark a real Zeitenwende — a decisive break from Germany’s past military reticence — or do they merely ratify incremental shifts within longstanding constraints? Professor Henke’s talk traces Germany’s evolving stance on security posture through the lens of its political traditions, institutional limits, and external pressures, asking: has Germany finally found a coherent grand strategy, or is strategic confusion still at the core? About the Speaker: Marina Henke is Professor of International Relations at the Hertie School in Berlin (Germany) and the Director of the Hertie Centre for International Security. Since 2023, she has also served as the Helmut Schmidt Distinguished Visiting Professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS, a visiting professorship supported by the DAAD and the German Federal Foreign Office. Marina Henke researches and publishes on grand strategy, nuclear security and European security and defence policy. She has published widely on these topics in journals such as International Security, Security Studies, International Studies Quarterly and Journal of Strategic Studies. Her book “Constructing Allied Cooperation” published with Cornell University Press in 2019 won the prestigious 2020 Lepgold Best Book Award, the ISA 2020 Diplomacy section Best Book Award, and the APSA 2020 International Collaboration section Best Book Award. Marina holds a PhD in Politics and Public Policy from Princeton University. Introductory remarks was made by professor Chris Young, Co-Director of the Cambridge DAAD Hub, and Professor Brendan Simms, Director of the Centre for Geopolitics.