BERLIN

Most Germans do not want their country to assume a military leadership role in Europe, according to the results of a new survey released on Monday.

Over half of Germans, 54%, said they do not want their government to pursue a more active foreign policy, and 71% said they are against government ambition to take on a leadership role for Europe’s defense.

The survey, conducted by the Korber Foundation, examined the attitudes of German citizens about the most pressing foreign policy issues.

According to the survey, a majority of Germans are against a more militarized foreign policy, but support diplomatic efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts.

Over three-fourths said Germany’s international engagements should be diplomatic, while only 12% said they support the involvement of German military forces in foreign conflicts.

The survey also showed that 57% of Germans believe that Germany’s international influence has actually waned over the past two years, since the start of Russia-Ukraine war in March 2022.

The survey was carried out on Sept. 6-12 in cooperation with the research institute Kantar Public.