Security and Defence Policy Opinions in Germany 2017

Since 1996, the Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the Bundeswehr (ZMSBw) has conducted a representative survey of the German population on defense and security policy issues on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Defense. In 2017, this study was continued. For this purpose, N = 2.508 persons were interviewed on various issues from May 31, 2017 to July 02, 2017. The present survey focused in particular on population’s threat perception and sense of security, personal attitudes toward the Federal Armed Forces, the perception of the Federal Armed Forces as an attractive employer, the population´s knowledge of the tasks of the Federal Armed Forces, their number of personnel, and awareness of the Federal Armed Forces´ missions abroad.<br>1. Security and threat perception: assessment of the current security situation worldwide and in the Federal Republic of Germany as well as personal sense of security (split); sense of threat from: Job loss or difficulty in finding a job, insufficient financial security in old age, worldwide climate change due to global warming, major natural disasters, war in Europe, terrorist attacks in Germany, worldwide spread of a dangerous disease or epidemic, xenophobia in Germany, religious fundamentalism in Germany, immigration to Germany, rising prices, crime in one´s personal environment, malfunction in a nuclear power plant, tensions between the West and Russia, conflict in Iraq and Syria, Internet attack on infrastructure in Germany, disintegration of the EU, spread of fake news).

2. Security policy attitudes: increase vs. decrease in Germany´s responsibility at the international level; preference for an active vs. passive German international policy; agreement with various instruments of German foreign and security policy (development aid, acceptance of refugees, diplomatic negotiations, economic sanctions, military cooperation, arms deliveries to friendly states, combat missions of the Federal Armed Forces, stabilization missions of the Federal Armed Forces, training missions of the Federal Armed Forces, police missions); agreement with various statements on foreign and security policy (war necessary under certain conditions, in international crises economic power is more important than military power, Germany should play a more active role in world politics, German interests are best safeguarded by not interfering in the affairs of other states, in an international crisis Germany and its allies should agree on a common stance, Germany should primarily take care of its own security, in foreign policy matters Germany should act in concert with the U.S., Germany should be more assertive in representing its interests to the U.S., the German government should be able to act alone in military matters without the involvement of the Bundestag, soldiers of the Federal Armed Forces should only be sent on missions with the approval of the Bundestag, Germany should engage in security and defense policy primarily together with the states of the EU, the EU should act as an independent defense and security policy actor, Germany should engage in NATO as a priority in terms of security and defense policy, Germany must continue to belong to NATO to ensure its security, EU should have a common security and defense policy/ a common European army, EU citizens should be allowed to serve as soldiers in the Federal Armed Forces in the same way as German citizens); attitudes toward NATO, alliance defense, and Russia (concerns about a new ´Cold War´ between Russia and the West, Germany should limit its economic relations with Russia, Germany should be more understanding of Russia´s position, Russia´s military action in Ukraine or in Syria threatens Germany´s security, NATO should increase its military presence in Eastern Europe, Germany should provide military support to the Baltic states); attitudes toward NATO, alliance defense, and the U.S. (U.S. a reliable partner for Germany, Germany should limit its economic relations with the U.S., Germany should have more understanding of the U.S. position, U.S. stands behind its commitments to other NATO countries, U.S. military action in Syria threatens Germany´s security, U.S. foreign and security policy threatens NATO cohesion, U.S. should remain involved in the defense of Europe).

3. Attitude toward the Federal Armed Forces: associations with the Federal Armed Forces (open); personal attitude toward the Federal Armed Forces; importance of the Federal Armed Forces for Germany; reputation of the Federal Armed Forces by the respondent; reputation of the Federal Armed Forces by most other people in Germany; degree of recognition by the respondent and in our country for the service of servicemen and women; evaluation of the Federal Armed Forces with regard to: Its performance at home and abroad, equipment and armament, integration of the Federal Armed Forces into society, public appearance, and the training of soldiers; institutional trust (public schools, German Bundestag, statutory pension insurance, political parties, Federal Employment Agency, trade unions, Federal Constitutional Court, statutory health insurance, Federal Armed Forces, police, Protestant Church, Catholic Church, Federal Criminal Police Office, Federal Intelligence Service, Federal Government, Office for the Protection of the Constitution); reasons for trust or for lack of trust in the Federal Armed Forces (open); perception of the Federal Armed Forces in the last 12 months on the following occasions: in everyday life, at public events, conversations with friends, relatives or colleagues, during broadcasts on television or on the radio, articles on the Internet, and reports in newspapers and magazines; personal impression of the Federal Armed Forces on the respective occasions; perception of media coverage of the Federal Armed Forces in general; credibility of media coverage of the Federal Armed Forces; sufficient efforts by the Federal Armed Forces to remain in contact with society; appropriate measures taken by the Federal Armed Forces to improve contact with society (open); agreement with various statements about the Federal Armed Forces (self-evident that Germany has its own armed forces, Federal Armed Forces are a normal part of society, feeling of inner connection with the Federal Armed Forces, contributes to the protection of our liberal system of values, feeling of gratitude for the Federal Armed Forces, embodies central values of our society such as freedom or justice).

4. Perceived attractiveness of the Federal Armed Forces as an employer: assessment of the attractiveness of the Federal Armed Forces as an employer for young people; impression of increased efforts by the Federal Armed Forces as an attractive employer; reasons for this impression; perception of the Federal Armed Forces´ attractiveness program; perception of the Federal Armed Forces´ advertising measures under the motto ´Do what really counts´; Opinion about the Federal Armed Forces as an employer (would recommend the Federal Armed Forces as an employer, would speak positively about the Federal Armed Forces in conversations about choosing a career, would encourage friends to apply to the Federal Armed Forces, would advise against the Federal Armed Forces as an employer, would recommend to a family member that the Federal Armed Forces be an employer).

5. Tasks of the Federal Armed Forces, level of defense spending and personnel: preferences with regard to the tasks of the Federal Armed Forces (e.g., repelling a military attack on Germany, maintaining peace and order within Germany, participating in the fight against international terrorism, etc.); preferences regarding the tasks of the Federal Armed Forces in Germany (disaster relief, search for missing persons, border security against illegal immigrants, protection of public buildings against terrorist attacks, surveillance of German airspace and coastline to prevent terrorist attacks, support for the reception of refugees); opinion on increasing defense spending; opinion on increasing the number of Federal Armed Forces soldiers.

6. Foreign missions of the Federal Armed Forces: perception of various Federal Armed Forces missions abroad (ISAF follow-on mission KFOR mission in Kosovo, ATALANTA mission off the coast of Somalia, UNIFIL mission off the coast of Lebanon, EUTM mission in Mali, sea rescue mission in the Mediterranean, training mission of Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, counterterrorism mission in Syria, MINUSMA mission in Mali, multinational combat teams as part of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania, air policing in the Baltics) and approval of Federal Armed Forces participation in the respective foreign missions; Self-assessment of being informed about Federal Armed Forces missions abroad; agreement with the proposal to deploy the Federal Armed Forces to defend Germany´s NATO allies in Eastern Europe in the event of an external attack (split).

7. Political attitudes and behavior: satisfaction with democracy; assessment of own economic situation and the economic situation in Germany; frequency of using various media in everyday life (television, newspapers and magazines, radio, Internet); interest in politics in general (split); interest in defense policy; internal effectiveness (trust myself to play an active role in a group dealing with defense policy issues, generally little knowledge of the Federal Armed Forces, good understanding of defense policy issues, defense policy is too complicated); left-right self-placement; party preference (Sunday question); general satisfaction with life; justice in Germany.

Demography: Sex; age; personal relationship to the Federal Armed Forces (respondent is/was in the Federal Armed Forces, close relative/member of the circle of friends or acquaintances was/was in the Federal Armed Forces, location of the Federal Armed Forces close to home, disaster deployment of the Federal Armed Forces close to home) marital status; household size; number of children under 16 in household; highest level of education; employment status; full-time or part-time employment; activity if not employed; net household income; citizenship; country of birth Germany; country of birth if born abroad; country of birth of parents Germany; country of birth of mother and father if born abroad (migration background).

Additionally coded were: ID; date of interview; duration of interview in minutes; city size (BIK, political); state; weighting factors; split identifier.