2 - The Federal Republic of Germany Between the American and Russian Superpowers - “Old Friend” and “New Partner”

Summary

Translated by Richard Sharp

The 1970s and 1980s were decades of change and transition that saw the importance and influence of the Federal Republic in international politics increase markedly. This development was linked to three political changes: the policy of détente between East and West in the late 1960s and early 1970s; the emergence of multipolar tendencies alongside the bipolar structure of postwar world politics; and the resolution and ultimate end of the East-West conflict in the second half of the 1980s. The Federal Republic itself also began to place greater emphasis in its view of its own role on gaining room for maneuver and on protecting its own interests. The Federal Republic was dependent on trends in international politics that the victors of World War II had determined. Yet, it was not condemned merely to adapt reactively to the changing climate of international affairs; it could exert influence in this realm, even if with only the limited capacity of a medium-sized power. For not only security and economic reasons but also for national reasons, it lay in the Federal Republic's interest to press for an easing of tensions in the East-West conflict. Doing so served its most important goals: security, prosperity, and unity.

STRUCTURAL ASYMMETRY

As it ascended to become a joint leader among the Western European powers and took on a central place in the Atlantic alliance, the Federal Republic no longer had to confine itself to a passive role in the shadows of the relations between the two superpowers. It successfully brought about normalization in its reciprocal relations with both of them. In its dealings with the Soviet Union, normalization meant leaving behind a deep-seated hostility. This was replaced by the renunciation of force and the opening of cooperative relations. In German-American relations, which were the vital foundation of the Federal Republic’s foreign policy, normalization meant carrying through, as earlier envisioned, with the turn away from the model of symbiotic friendship. The Federal Republic sought not separation but emancipation from the dominant Western power in order to express its own specific interests in its policies toward both West and East and, further, in its dealings with the Third World.