German Survey Shows Declining Trust in U.S. as NATO Ally

A German defence survey found trust in the United States as a NATO ally fell by as much as 28 percentage points since 2022. Support for higher defence spending reached 65 percent, the highest level recorded since 1996. Dr Timo Graf, a senior researcher at the Bundeswehr's Centre for Military History and Social Sciences in Potsdam, conducted the study titled "Germany in a Military Leadership Role?

" The research forms part of an annual survey series dating back to 1996.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, support for higher defence spending rose sharply and has remained just below 60 percent. Last year alone, support increased by another seven percentage points to 65 percent. Graf said the clearest trend in the 2025 data was the sharp decline in trust in the United States as a NATO ally.

On some questions, only around a third of respondents still view the United States as a reliable partner.

The study found at least three quarters of respondents consistently say they have a positive opinion of the Bundeswehr. Only 14 percent say they view it negatively. Graf said attitudes toward the Bundeswehr itself remained broadly positive regardless of overseas missions.

The real shift, he said, is in people's willingness to support its mission of territorial and collective defence. 58 percent of respondents agree that the United States should remain involved in Europe's defence, while 46 percent support keeping U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in Germany.