The problem of creating and maintaining a global military presence is relevant for each genuinely influential state. The article examines Germany taking into account its role as a rising power (first of all, inside the Euro-Atlantic community) and special historical responsibility as the key aggressor in the World War II. Since the 1990s, Germany has focused on the non-combat usage of the Bundeswehr in the zones of armed conflicts outside of NATO`s zone of responsibility. In doing so, it has positioned itself as a peacemaker on the global stage. But in the late 2010s and early 2020s, Germany was forced to make a strategic exit from some zones of instability (in Somali, Afghanistan, Syria) and faced with the same scenario in others (in Iraq and Mali). The article reveals the political and military reasons for it. It also shows the limited results of Germany`s efforts in creating a crisis response force to be used in zones of instability in different parts of the world. The author also pays attention to the difficulties in and prospects for establishing military bases in the stable states outside of NATO`s zone of responsibility. In this regard the key attention is paid to the partners of Germany in South America and the Indo-Pacific region. The article draws conclusions about the key reasons of the crisis of German global military presence and the prospects for overcoming it. In the context the paper stresses the counterproductiveness of the growing contribution of Germany to the «containment» of the Russian Federation and the PRC.
Strategic presence; influence; power; Germany; Bundeswehr; armed conflicts; crisis management forces; military bases.