Security and Defence Policy Opinions in Germany 2009

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 2009, this study was continued. For this purpose, N = 2100 persons were interviewed on various issues from September 28, 2009 until November 14, 2009. The present survey focused in particular on Threat perception and sense of security, attitudes toward Germany´s role, public perception of the Federal Armed Forces, assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the Federal Armed Forces, foundations of acceptance of the Federal Armed Forces, attitudes toward the Federal Armed Forces´ areas of responsibility in attitudes toward the Federal Armed Forces´ ISAF mission, attitudes toward other missions abroad attitudes toward the level of defence spending and the size of the armed forces, attitudes toward NATO, attitudes toward transatlantic relations, acceptance of compulsory military service, comparison of public institutions, German citizens´ interest in security policy and media use, German parliamentary elections (Bundestagswahl) 2009.<br>1. Security policy opinion: feeling threatened by: severe economic crisis in Germany, cutbacks in social benefits, job loss or inability to find a job, insufficient financial security in the event of unemployment, old age or illness, an 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 outside of 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, the resurgent military power of Russia, disclosure or unauthorized use of personal data; personal sense of security; assessment of the current security situation in the country; Germany´s role in the world: increase vs. decrease in the responsibility that Germany has to bear at the international level; preference for a more active vs. more passive international policy on the part of Germany; reasons why Germany helps to overcome problems and crises in other countries and regions or should stay out of it (open); importance of various foreign and security policy objectives of the Federal Government (securing world peace, promoting the spread of democracy and the rule of law, contributing to respect for human rights worldwide, promoting economic development in poorer countries, bridging the gap between rich and poor regions of the world, combating international terrorism, promoting respect for international law, providing disaster relief, helping to ensure environmental protection, security and stability of the community of states, Strengthen Europe and the foreign and security policy capacity of the European Union to act, combat exploitation and oppression, limit climate change, prevent nuclear armament of countries such as Iran or North Korea, shape and cultivate relations with the USA, maintain and further develop political and military cooperation in NATO, secure Germany´s energy supply, ensure free world trade, guarantee Germany´s security and stability, protect citizens, defend Germany against external threats, commitment to arms control and disarmament); Germany´s preferred action with regard to a world without nuclear weapons (e.g. greater commitment to arms control and disarmament among all states, influence through diplomatic channels on states that develop nuclear weapons, etc.).

2. Attitude towards the Federal Armed Forces: frequency of perception of the Federal Armed Forces on the following occasions: in everyday life, at public events, conversations with friends, relatives or colleagues, during television broadcasts, contributions on the Internet and reports in newspapers and magazines; personal impression of the Federal Armed Forces on the respective occasions; positive or negative attitude towards the Federal Armed Forces; assessment of the Federal Armed Forces with regard to: the performance of the Federal Armed Forces in its missions at home and abroad, the equipment and armament of the Federal Armed Forces, the integration of the Federal Armed Forces into society, military cooperation in NATO and the European Union, the public appearance and training of soldiers as well as the attractiveness of the Federal Armed Forces as an employer; activities directly related to the Federal Armed Forces (e.g. family members or friends who wanted to become soldiers in the Federal Armed Forces; activities in direct connection with the Federal Armed Forces (e.g. family members or friends) dissuaded, contradicted, if someone spoke badly or well about the Federal Armed Forces, participation in public events of the Federal Armed Forces such as a public pledge or protest against public events, etc. ); knowledge about the Federal Armed Forces (number of Federal Armed Forces soldiers on foreign missions, current Federal Minister of Defence, forces of the Federal Armed Forces entrusted with the deployment of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), year of the beginning of the Federal Armed Forces´ foreign deployment as part of the ISAF peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, approval of which institution required before the Federal Armed Forces can conduct an armed foreign deployment, country of the current foreign deployment of the Federal Armed Forces, duration of basic military service in months, situation of women in the Federal Armed Forces, number of female and male soldiers in the service of the Federal Armed Forces).

3. Foreign missions of the Federal Armed Forces: state of knowledge about 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), operation against piracy off the coast of Somalia (ATALANTA), operation against international terrorism in the Horn of Africa (Operation Enduring Freedom), United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and agreement to a Federal Armed Forces participation in the respective foreign missions; impact of the ISAF deployment of the Federal Armed Forces in Afghanistan on various areas (security situation in the region controlled by the Federal Armed Forces in northern Afghanistan, deployment options for international aid organizations, living conditions of the people in the controlled region, educational opportunities for young men and women, development opportunities in Afghanistan, the fight against drug cultivation in Afghanistan, the fight against international terrorism, 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 Germany, the standing of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Western world); evaluation of the success of the ISAF mission of the Federal Armed Forces in Afghanistan; approval of various positions on the participation of the Federal Armed Forces in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan (Federal Armed Forces should continue to participate in the ISAAF mission and support the reconstruction of the country, should end the ISAF mission immediately, should also deploy more soldiers if necessary, should contribute to improving the security situation in Afghanistan, should continue to concentrate its efforts on northern Afghanistan as before, should primarily carry out reconstruction work, should also be deployed in northern Afghanistan for combat operations against the Taliban, should also be deployed in southern Afghanistan for combat operations against the Taliban in addition to reconstruction work); reasons for continuation or for termination of the Afghanistan mission (open); goals of the Federal Government through the deployment of the Federal Armed Forces in Afghanistan (open); self-assessment of the level of information about the ISAF mission of the Federal Armed Forces; interest in more detailed information about the ISAF mission.

4. Tasks and equipment 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, participation 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 increasing defence expenditure; opinion on increasing the number of Federal Armed Forces soldiers; preferred areas of application for additional tax revenues (ranked in three order of importance); preferred areas for savings with lower tax revenues (ranked in three order of importance).
5. personal relation to the Federal Armed Forces (location of the Federal Armed Forces close to home, respondent is or was himself in the Federal Armed Forces in basic military service or alternative civilian service, as a temporary or professional soldier, close relative (father, mother, son, daughter) or other family member was or is in the Federal Armed Forces in basic military service or alternative civilian service, as a temporary or professional soldier).

6. Attitude towards compulsory military service: positive or negative attitude towards compulsory military service; personal attitude towards compulsory military service (should be abolished, existing regulations on compulsory military service should be maintained unchanged, should apply not only to men but also to women, a general compulsory service for men and women should be introduced with a choice between military service and other services for society, compulsory military service should in principle remain in place but should be carried out on a voluntary basis as long as it is necessary to meet the personnel requirements of the armed forces, compulsory military service should not be abolished but suspended); compulsory military service should be maintained vs. should be abolished; approval of conscription by the majority of German citizens.

7. Attitude towards NATO and assessment of transatlantic relations: assessment of NATO´s success; reasons for NATO´s success or failure (open); NATO´s role for the security of the Western community of states (NATO has largely lost its function as a Western security alliance vs. will remain the most important security alliance of the Western states in the future); areas in which NATO should become active in the future (e.g. defence alliance for the protection of its member states, should engage in military operations for crisis management in Europe or even outside Europe, etc.); Split A: Assessment of transatlantic relations between Germany and the USA; development of transatlantic relations between Germany and the USA; reasons for the improvement or deterioration of transatlantic relations between Germany and the USA (open, end of Split A); Split B: Assessment of relations between Germany and Russia; development of relations between Germany and Russia; reasons for the improvement or deterioration of relations between Germany and Russia (open, end of Split B).

8. 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); assessment of the fulfilment of tasks by the above-mentioned institutions and organisations; reasons for trust in the Federal Armed Forces or for lack of trust in the Federal Armed Forces (open).

9. 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. ); importance of various topics for the personal election decision at the last Bundestag election (e.g. economic situation in the country, own economic situation, worldwide financial and economic crisis, development of unemployment in the country, etc.); party affiliation; party identification; voting behaviour at the last Bundestag election; party preference (Sunday question).

Demography: sex; age (month and year of birth); household size; number of persons in 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; split; duration; interview date (day, month); weight.