German strategic culture from the pre-Weimar period (II. Wilhelm 1888-1918) to the post-unification period (Merkel 2005-2021)

Strategic cultural studies do not date back to ancient times. Likewise, studies on strategic culture in the literature have not yet reached saturation. Because strategic culture is a broad and comprehensive subject that needs to be thought about and researched. This study covered the process from the last imperial age, which is the pre-Weimar period, from II. Wilhelm to the end of the German post-unification Merkel era. The study aimed to evaluate the strategic culture of Germany through leader discourses. In this context, periods and prominent critical leaders of each period were determined. Then, the German Consulate General and Embassies were contacted in order to reach the relevant documents and archive documents. After collecting the necessary documents and texts, 7 speeches of each leader were analyzed with the Maxqda program. Then, expert opinion was sought with the results of the analysis data. For this, Johnston's strategic culture environment is based on. Within Johnston's basic assumptions, statistical operations were performed after scoring the experts. With the result reached, the strategic culture attitude of each leader is conveyed in detail with graphics. Then, the average score in the strategic culture scale of each period was determined. After all, Germany's general strategic culture score and attitude were reached within the scope of the examined periods. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this study. There is no previous study like this in the literature. It is thought that the study will contribute to the literature and will set an example for those who want to work on this subject later on. Key Words: Strategic Culture, Germany, German Chancellors, Maxqda Analysis, Leader Discourses