77. What is the Bundeswehr?

Answer options

1. the German police
2. a German port
3. a German citizens' initiative
4. the German army

Explanation

The Bundeswehr is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany; its constitutional basis is Article 87a of the Basic Law, which regulates its organization and deployment and preserves the separation of internal and external security. In peacetime, command authority lies with the Federal Minister of Defence (Art. 65a GG), while in a state of defence it transfers to the Federal Chancellor (Art. 115b GG). Foreign deployments require a Bundestag mandate (Parliamentary Participation Act; affirmed by the Federal Constitutional Court’s 1994 out-of-area ruling), and the doctrine of Innere Führung (“citizen in uniform”) binds soldiers to fundamental rights and democratic values. Conscription is permitted under Art. 12a GG but has been suspended since 2011; the Bundeswehr is integrated into collective security systems such as NATO.