The book under review is a fundamental work ‘Sicherheit, Sicherheitspolitik und Militär: Deutschland seit der Vereinigung’ by W. von Bredow, a renowned German political scientist specializing in military security and development of the FRG’s military forces. The book review examines the way the author defines the essence of such concepts as ‘foreign policy’, ‘security policy’, ‘defense policy’, and ‘military policy’ (crucial to the understanding of the German strategic culture), and identifies the linkages between them. Special attention is paid to the author’s views on the issues of establishment and functioning of mechanisms of civilian oversight of the Bundeswehr. W. von Bredow analyzes these issues through the prism of the processes of the Bundeswehr modernization and adaptation to the new challenges to national and international security. In particular, the reviewer emphasizes the author’s argument that in the modern context Bundeswehr functions are becoming increasingly complex as it gets involved in processes of post-conflict reconstruction and statebuilding. This tendency highlights a growing importance of building institutional links between military and civilian agencies and development of comprehensive programs of providing assistance to post-conflict and fragile states in the Global South.