A clear majority of three quarters (76 percent) of German citizens believe that Germany should expand its relations with important countries in the so-called Global South. In a survey conducted by the opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of the magazine “Internationale Politik”, 76 percent answered yes to a corresponding question. Only 21 percent think that Germany should not expand its political and economic relations in these regions of the world in addition to the existing close ties with European and transatlantic partners.
The term “Global South” often refers to countries in Latin America, Africa, the Near and Middle East or Asia such as Brazil, South Africa, India or Indonesia.
Approval is slightly higher in eastern Germany (84 percent) than in western Germany (75 percent). There are also only minor differences in the different age groups surveyed: At 81 percent and 78 percent respectively, both the 18 to 29 year olds and the over 60 year olds support the development of relationships with countries in the Global South to an above-average extent.
At 97 percent, Green Party voters are almost unanimous in their opinion that Germany should expand its relations with these countries. The figure is 86 percent for supporters of the FDP, 75 percent for those of the SPD and 78 percent for those of the CDU/CSU. AfD voters, on the other hand, are less strongly of this view: 59 percent are in favor, 37 percent are against.
