Opinion Monitor for Development Policy 2024: Public Support and Criticism in the Context of Multiple Crises and New Guiding Principles

Abstract

As a result of numerous global crises and the lack of progress in achieving the United Nations’ sustainability goals, German development policy is being challenged more than almost ever before. At the same time, many partner countries are becoming more fragile, and the number of states ruled by an autocratic regime is increasing. In the context of domestic developments such as the strained economic and budgetary situation, the general public in Germany is increasingly questioning development policy. These challenges come at a time when the German Federal Government is establishing new focal points in its international engagement, for example with the guiding principle of a feminist foreign and development policy presented in 2023 (see Chapter 1: Development policy context and objectives of the report). Since the beginning of 2022, the respondents' support for development cooperation (DC) has declined. In January 2024, only 47 percent of respondents advocated DC expenditure remaining the same or increasing - a drop of 21 percentage points. Decreasing support can be observed across the entire political spectrum. The fact that the German Federal Government provides DC and humanitarian aid in general is met with a high level of support - from 63 and 72 percent of respondents respectively, although this figure has declined slightly since January 2023. In comparison with other policy areas, many respondents see DC as an area in which they would be most willing to cut funding (21% of respondents).