Way with a civil clause: State should promote research of drones and Co.

On Tuesday, the Bundestag wants to enable a massive increase in military spending. The debate about the use of the funds is already beginning. The ring of Christian-democratic students (RCDS) now demands that the money also be placed in military research at German universities.

“The civil clause should finally be abolished, and the money for military spending must also flow into research,” said Lukas Honemann, Federal Chairman of the RCD, the star.

Many German universities are proud of a strict ban on military research. This has been a tradition in Germany since the end of World War II when the Americans initially banned any military research. According to the German Academy of Technology (Acatech), 77 out of a total of 318 universities and universities of applied sciences still have their own civil clauses – including large research sites such as the University of Cologne, the HU and TU in Berlin or RWTH Aachen.

Honemann refers to the University of Kassel. At the end of 2023 a cooperation with the two Kassel armaments companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall ended. The reason for this was a civil clause from the university that was decided a few years earlier. The companies had previously worked with the research facility for years.

Honemann says: “This weakens Germany with innovations – economically and militarily.” In the coalition negotiations, the CDU/CSU would therefore have to create incentives to abolish the civil clause. “We need funding programs for military research at universities – if you participate, you will not get money on the ideological civil clause.”

In view of the drastically modified global political situation, the RCDS calls for a rethink of research policy. “Science must be free – without any restrictions, without specifications,” says CEO Honemann. “From AI to combat drone – what is researched at German universities could provide decisive advantages.” It is always cheaper to develop these innovations themselves than they later buy from abroad.

Until the end of March, the CDU/CSU and SPD will negotiate a new coalition agreement. Most recently, the SPD also had any demands for more military research at German universities. The President of the Science Ministers’ Conference, Bettina Martin (SPD), calls for a new openness to military research in January in the reference to the “Time Tort”. The CDU wants schools to work more closely with the Bundeswehr.