# Germany’s Nuclear Debate & NATO Dynamics 

With the recent article *“Trump’s Embrace of Putin Has Germany Thinking of Nuclear Weapons”* highlighting the growing debate around a European nuclear deterrent

March 10, 2025 • News Releases 

With the recent article *“Trump’s Embrace of Putin Has Germany Thinking of Nuclear Weapons”* highlighting the growing debate around a European nuclear deterrent, please consider speaking with [Doug Bandow](https://www.cato.org/people/doug-bandow), a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, who has extensively written on this topic.

Doug has long advocated for a reassessment of U.S. security commitments and has argued that America’s allies, including Germany and other European nations, should consider developing their own nuclear capabilities as a credible deterrent. His pieces offer a deep dive into the strategic implications of a homegrown nuclear arsenal in Europe:

- [*The Germans Need a Nuclear Arsenal*](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/02/opinion/the-germans-need-a-nuclear-arsenal.html) (*New York Times*)
- [*Maybe It Is Time for a European Nuclear Weapon*](https://www.theamericanconservative.com/maybe-it-is-time-for-a-european-nuclear-weapon/) (*The American Conservative*)
- [*Why America’s Allies Should Develop Nuclear Weapons*](https://www.cato.org/commentary/why-americas-allies-should-develop-nuclear-weapons) (*Cato Institute*)
- [*Time for a European Nuclear Deterrent*](https://nationalinterest.org/feature/time-european-nuclear-deterrent-19053) (*National Interest*)

If you’re working on a follow-up piece or exploring this angle further, Doug would be an excellent source to provide analysis and historical context.

You can reach our media relations team via: [pr@​cato.​org](mailto:pr@cato.org)

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