THE EVOLUTION OF GERMANY'S POLITICAL AND MILITARY INFLUENCE IN THE NEAR EAST (By the early 2020s)

The situation in the Near East is important for each power, especially for the rising one. Germany belongs to the last category. The article tries to explore the forms, features and results of the FRG`s usage of political and military tools in the Near East by the mid-2020s. For two decades, Germany was trying to become security and stability provider for regional actors, to ensure strategic influence in the zones of armed conflicts. But in Iraq and especially in Syria, the results of Berlin's participation in the struggle against the "Islamic state" (Terrorist organization banned in Russia) were rather modest. Hence, the Bundeswehr was forced to short its presence in Iraq and to reduce it to zero in Syria by the early 2020s. Rather important for Germany was the critical lack of opportunities to influence over growing strategic activity of the key regional actors. The FRG has faced the fact of distancing with Turkey which demonstrated its special position from other Western democracies on many regional issues. In 2010s, Germany made significant efforts to relieve tensions around Iran (because of its nuclear program and the confrontation with Saudi Arabia), but in the early 2020s, Berlin turned to the containment of this country. There has been also the disruption of the previous balance in the development of Germany's partnership with Israel, Jordan, Palestinian National Authority, and Lebanon (official Beirut). Berlin starts to see the relations with Tel-Aviv as the highest priority. All the tendencies have received noticeable development during the war in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.