UK Defence and Security Cooperation
The UK-German defence and security relationship is sometimes referred to as the 'quiet alliance'. It is understudied and underutilised compared to both UK-France and Franco-German bilateral cooperation. Following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea the relationship attracted more attention, and intergovernmental relations have intensified following Brexit. However, despite this intensification, the political drivers, alongside differing threat perceptions and strategic cultures, have thus far been insufficient to deepen the relationship in a way that would match the potential for cooperation between these two leading European countries.
