What do the parties in Saxony-Anhalt say on foreign affairs and defence?

The AfD wants to push in the Bundesrat (the chamber of the states) for lifting the sanctions on Russia and all other economic sanctions. It argues that they hurt the local economy through the loss of cheap energy and of exports. It considers sanctions acceptable in individual cases, for example against countries that refuse to take back illegal immigrants.

The AfD wants to end the sanctions on Russia. Sanctions are trade penalties against a country. The AfD says they hurt companies in Saxony-Anhalt. Other sanctions should end too. The party wants to push for this in the Bundesrat.

The BSW rejects the loans for armaments made possible by the loosening of the debt brake in March 2025, calling them “war credits.” Saxony-Anhalt should not back a policy that, in the party's view, puts rearmament ahead of diplomacy. It calls for disarmament and a new policy of détente.

Since 2025 the state may take on more debt for weapons. The BSW is against this. The party wants talks instead of more weapons. It also says war does great harm to the climate.

The BSW demands that Germany stop supplying weapons to Israel and recognize Palestine as a state. The EU's association agreement with Israel should also be suspended. The party sees the federal government as sharing responsibility for violations of international law in Gaza because of the deliveries.

Germany should stop sending weapons to Israel. Palestine should count as a state. The fighting in Gaza should stop. A treaty between the EU and Israel should be put on hold.

The BSW insists on the Two Plus Four Treaty, which bans nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in eastern Germany and caps the size of the Bundeswehr. It rejects new US intermediate-range missiles and backs the ICAN appeal for a Germany free of nuclear weapons. The party regards openness about deployment and procurement as a condition of democratic oversight.

There should be no nuclear weapons in eastern Germany. A treaty from 1990 says so. The BSW wants this treaty to be kept. The party rejects new missiles from the US.

The BSW wants to prevent military training areas in the state from growing and Saxony-Anhalt from becoming a hub for NATO operations. It rejects NATO maneuvers and military use of civilian infrastructure. The party considers a peace policy incompatible with tying civilian structures into military planning.

Training grounds for soldiers should not get bigger. This applies above all to the Letzlinger Heide and the Zeitzer Forst. NATO should hold no maneuvers in the state. Roads and rails should not serve the military.

The BSW wants to keep the Bundeswehr as a volunteer army and rejects a return to conscription. The force should serve only national and alliance defense and be used at home only in cases such as natural disasters. In the party's view, security comes from diplomacy and de-escalation.

No one should be forced to serve in the army. The Bundeswehr should only defend the country. It should not go into foreign wars. At home it should only help in disasters.

The Left opposes higher military spending and a step-by-step return of conscription. It also objects to the military use of land and sites in the state. In the program's view, rearmament does not make the state safer and takes money away from social security, education and industrial change.

The Left does not want to spend more money on the military. It is against conscription. Conscription means young people must join the army. The party also wants less military use of places in Saxony-Anhalt. It wants the money to go to social programs and schools instead.

The Left wants to add a civil clause to the state's higher education act. Such a clause commits universities to research for civilian purposes only. The platform says this is meant to strengthen civilian research.

The Left wants a civil clause in the university law. This is a rule for research. Universities would then only do research for peaceful purposes. There should be no research for the military there.

The Left links climate protection to peace policy and wants state subsidies directed primarily to civilian rather than arms production. In the platform's view, wars and rearmament drive up emissions and tie up money needed for social and environmental purposes.

The Left says wars harm the climate. State money should go to civilian companies rather than weapons makers. The military should report its CO₂ emissions openly. Politics should rely on talks and disarmament.

The SPD calls on the federal government to expand civil protection and civil defense in Saxony-Anhalt. The program justifies this with the tense security situation and the state's logistical role if NATO's mutual defense clause is triggered. At the same time, it stresses that security does not come from military means alone.

The situation in Europe is unsafe. The SPD wants more protection for people in the state. The federal government should take care of that. But the SPD also wants talks and disarmament.