Germany Rethinks Separation of Civilian and Military Research
As Germany ramps up spending on its military, a clash is brewing around what some politicians and defense executives say is one of the nation’s biggest untapped resources: public universities.
The debate centers on so-called civil clauses — widely used policies at major research institutions that restrict collaboration with the defense industry. They date back to the Cold War, and now even some academics want to get rid of them.
“At a time when security is more important than ever, we consider the civil clause to be a relic of the past,” said Klaus Kappen, chief technology officer of Rheinmetall AG, Germany’s biggest defense contractor. “Every university that gets rid of it is keeping with the times and sending a valuable signal for the joint protection of our society’s values.”
The drive to end civil clauses — and the backlash it’s causing among some researchers and activists — offers a window into the social tensions playing out in Germany as the country reevaluates its role in the region following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The war not only raised the risk that Germany could be pulled into a direct conflict on European soil, but also laid bare decades of neglect that left the military ill-equipped to aid an ally, let alone engage in combat.
The merit of civil clauses has been questioned for years, but after being derided for only offering Ukraine 5,000 helmets in the lead up to Russia’s invasion, political will within Germany to expand the military has grown. Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2022 pushed through a €100 billion ($103 billion) spending plan to modernize the military and declared a “Zeitenwende,” a historical turning point, that would make national defense a central priority.