Evolution of the German approach towards the «Syrian problem

The growing instability in Syria — located in the immediate vicinity of the Euro-Atlantic community — poses a serious threat to the security of its member states. This threat affects not only small and medium-sized member states of the EU and NATO, but also the Western “great powers”, primarily France and Germany, as the migration crisis and acts of megaterror in Paris (13 November of 2015) have shown. In this regard the paper examines the direction, substance and the results of the German policies on regulating an armed conflict in Syria and ensuring the country’s stable political, social and economic development to mitigate the external threats to the German national security. Special attention is paid to the German fight against the “Islamic State”. This paper investigates the change of the Germany’s goals in Syria and the readiness of the German leadership to use various tools (diplomatic, military, and economic) to achieve these goals.