Security and Defence Policy Opinions in Germany 2010, Partial Study 1

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 2010, this study was continued. For this purpose, N = 1826 persons were interviewed on various issues from September 27, 2010 until October 29, 2010. The present survey focused in particular on security and threat perceptions, basic security policy attitudes, perceptions of Germany´s role in the world, perceptions and evaluations of the Federal Armed Forces, attitudes toward the Federal Armed Forces´ missions abroad, defense spending and the size of the armed forces, attitudes of German citizens toward compulsory military service, attitudes toward the ESDP and NATO, attitudes toward the discussions on downsizing the Federal Armed Forces, and German citizens´ interest in security policy and media usage.<br>1. Security and threat perception: feeling of being threatened by: severe economic crisis in Germany, cutbacks in social benefits, loss of or no job, insufficient financial security in case of unemployment, old age or illness, ageing society, immigration of foreigners to Germany, political extremism or religious fundamentalism in Germany, worldwide spread of a dangerous disease or epidemic, terrorist attacks in Germany or in other countries. outside Germany, nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in the hands of terrorists, wars or military conflicts in the world, military attack on Germany, worldwide climate change due to global warming, major natural disasters, worldwide environmental destruction, nuclear bombs in the hands of states such as Iran or North Korea, personal threat of crime; personal sense of security; assessment of the current security situation in the country;

2. Germany´s role in the world: preference for a rather active vs. rather passive international policy of Germany; reasons why Germany should help to cope with problems and crises in other countries and regions or why it should stay out of it (open).

3. Perception and evaluation of the Federal Armed Forces: frequency of perception of the Federal Armed Forces on the following occasions: in everyday life, at public events, conversations with family or relatives, with friends or colleagues, during television broadcasts, contributions on the Internet and reports in newspapers and magazines; positive or negative perception of the Federal Armed Forces on the above-mentioned occasions; personal attitude towards the Federal Armed Forces; evaluation of the Federal Armed Forces in various areas (its performance at home and abroad, equipment and armament, integration of the Federal Armed Forces into society, military cooperation within the framework of NATO or of the European Union, public appearance and training of the soldiers, attractiveness as an employer); assessment of public support for Federal Armed Forces soldiers in Germany; reasons why support for Federal Armed Forces soldiers is perceived as too strong (open); suggestions for improvements in support of Federal Armed Forces soldiers (open).

4. Foreign Deployments of the Federal Armed Forces: state of knowledge of various foreign missions of the Federal Armed Forces (international security support force in Afghanistan (ISAF), peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR), peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), ATALANTA mission off the coast of Somalia, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL); approval or rejection of the participation of the Federal Armed Forces in the respective foreign missions; impact of the ISAF mission of the Federal Armed Forces in Afghanistan on various areas (security situation in the region controlled by the Federal Armed Forces in northern Afghanistan, possibilities for international aid organisations to be deployed in the region, living conditions of the people in the controlled region, educational opportunities for young men or women in the controlled region, Afghanistan´s development opportunities, the fight against drug cultivation in Afghanistan, the fight against international terrorism, the stability of the region as a whole, Germany´s standing in the Islamic world, the security situation in Germany, the standing of the Federal Armed Forces in the FRG, the standing of the FRG in the Western world); assessment of the success of the Federal Armed Forces´ ISAF mission in Afghanistan; approval of various positions on the participation of the Federal Armed Forces in ISAF (Federal Armed Forces should continue to participate, Federal Armed Forces should immediately terminate the ISAF mission, should deploy more soldiers if necessary, Federal Armed Forces should mainly carry out reconstruction work, should also be deployed for combat missions against the Taliban, primarily to train the Afghan armed forces, Federal Armed Forces should fight the Taliban together with the Afghan armed forces); reasons for continuation or termination of the ISAF mission of the Federal Armed Forces (open); knowledge about the Federal Armed Forces mission in Afghanistan: geographical location of Afghanistan on a map; part of Afghanistan in which the Federal Armed Forces is stationed (open); number of Federal Armed Forces soldiers deployed in Afghanistan; start or termination duration of the Federal Armed Forces mission in Afghanistan (open); international organization in command of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan (open); country with the most soldiers stationed in Afghanistan (open); number of Federal Armed Forces soldiers killed in Afghanistan to date (open).

5. Tasks of the Federal Armed Forces: preferences with regard to the tasks of the Federal Armed Forces abroad (e.g. preventing a terrorist attack on Germany, stabilising the security situation in a crisis region in Africa, participating in the fight against international terrorism, etc.) and in Germany (e.g. disaster relief, rescue of missing persons, defence in the event of a military attack on Germany, etc.) ); opinion on the increase in defence expenditure; opinion on the future number of Federal Armed Forces soldiers (split: troop strength of the Federal Armed Forces should be reduced in the future); personal relation to the Federal Armed Forces (e.g. location of the Federal Armed Forces close to home, interviewee is or was himself in the Federal Armed Forces, close relative/ member of the circle of friends or acquaintances was or is in the Federal Armed Forces, etc.)

6. Compulsory military service: positive or negative attitude towards compulsory military service; personal attitude towards compulsory military service (should be maintained vs. abolished (split: Conscription should be maintained vs. suspended vs. abolished); approval of conscription by the majority of German citizens; approval of various proposals for counter-terrorism (e.g. more policemen in public, use of military means and possibilities of the Federal Armed Forces also at home, increased surveillance of public places and buildings with video cameras, etc.); role of NATO for the security of the Western community of states (NATO has largely lost its function vs. remains the most important security alliance in the future).

7. Trust in institutions (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); evaluation of the fulfilment of tasks by the above-mentioned institutions and organisations.

8. Interest in security policy and media use: political interest; frequency of use of various media in everyday life (tabloids, regional daily newspapers, national newspapers and business papers, news magazines, weekly newspapers, private television, public television, news channels, radio stations, Internet: forums and blogs, online editions of newspapers, magazines or television stations, Federal Armed Forces homepage, personal conversations with friends, acquaintances, colleagues or relatives, personal conversations with experts, participation in information events); interest in various topics (e.g. domestic policy, economic policy, social policy, education policy, foreign policy, security policy, defence policy, sport, culture, etc.); party affiliation; party identification.

Demography: sex; age; household size; number of persons in the household aged 16 and over; marital status; own children; number of children under 16 years of age; German citizenship; other citizenship; birth in Germany; other country of birth; birth of parents in Germany; country of birth of parents (migration background); highest school-leaving qualification or desired school-leaving qualification; vocational training qualification; employment status; activity if not fully employed; net household income (grouped).

Additionally coded: respondent ID; city size; federal state combined (north, east, west, south); federal state; interview date (day, month); weight.