Thus, 85% are very concerned about the war in Ukraine and in this sense, the fear that Germany will be drawn into a military conflict has shot up from 37% last year to 63%. The feeling of threat regarding military risks has increased considerably, and if in 2021 only 10% felt personally threatened by the war and military conflicts in which Germany is involved, in 2022 it was already 21% and at the beginning of 2023, 47%.
An overwhelming majority considers NATO generally important and supports Germany’s membership in the Alliance. However, only 45% support Germany’s participation in a military operation to defend another NATO state. Another 35% are clearly in favor of Germany not getting involved in a case like this and 20% are undecided.
“The fact that there is no clear commitment on the part of the Germans to the obligations towards NATO is frightening,” said Klaus Schweinsberg of the Center for Senior Strategy and Senior Leadership and a co-author of the study. He added that “NATO partners, especially in the east, will view this unsupportive attitude of the German population with concern and incomprehension and will demand a clear commitment from German politicians.”
Germans are even more reticent about whether Germany should honor its obligations as a NATO member if Russia were to attack the Baltics, in which case only 40% are in favor of participating in their defense, while a similar percentage opts to stay out of such a conflict.
Russia “the main threat to the world pay”
Russia is currently seen by 82% as the main threat to world peace in the coming years, followed some distance behind by China (60%) and North Korea (52%). In this sense, the opinion regarding Russia has completely changed in the last two years. Thus, only two years ago, only 32% of the population considered Russia among the countries from which the greatest risks derive, at the beginning of 2022 66% did, and currently, 82%.
As far as the United States is concerned, the evolution has been the reverse; If during the government of Donald Trump, the proportion of Germans who considered that country to be one of the greatest threats to peace rose to 61%, currently only 23% hold this opinion. Similarly, today 46% of Germans consider the US a reliable partner, up from 21% in 2021, while doubts about it have dropped from 53% to 27%. Meanwhile, 67% of the population is in favor of greater investment in Germany’s defensive capacity, compared to 44% in 2017.
“For the first time in many decades, the Germans expect the state to do more when it comes to armed forces and defense capabilities,” Schweinsberg stressed. On the other hand, 86% of Germans are very concerned about rising prices due to inflation.
