Autonomy or Power?: The Franco-German Relationship and Europe's Strategic Choices, 1955-1995

by Stephen Kocs

Overview

France and Germany were among the major powers that abruptly lost that status as a consequence of World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, the governments of both nations sought ways to recover their great-power standing. Each saw the cooperation of the other as crucial for its own foreign policy aspirations and tried repeatedly to engage the other in commitments that would underwrite its own ambitions. But neither succeeded. In the 1970s, France and Germany began to reconcile themselves to the permanent loss of their great-power status. The process of accepting a diminished international role has been underway for more than two decades, and, in Kocs's judgment, is very likely to continue in the future. Far from opening the door to a stronger world military role for Western Europe, the end of the Cold War is likely to serve merely to consolidate the existing situation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275948900
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/15/1995
Series:	History; 41
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

STEPHEN A. KOCS is an Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA. He has published articles on international relations theory and on the causes of war.

Table of Contents

Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Prelude to Cooperation, 1955-1962
France, Germany, and the Europe That Wasn't, 1962-1966
Attempts at Arms Procurement Collaboration, 1955-1964
The Reformulation of Security Strategy, 1967-1973
The Forging of the Paris-Bonn Axis, 1974-1983
The Continuing Difficulty of Armaments Collaboration, 1975-1987
The Long Road to Genuine Dialogue, 1983-1988
Strategic Adaptation in a Post-Cold War World, 1989-1995
Conclusion
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Treads the winding course of military relations between Europe's two central countries through the Cold War, the end of communism, the reunification of Germany, and the economic integration of Europe. Emphasizes that throughout the period leaders of both countries believed they had a common destiny and that the relationship between them was the glue that would hold Europe together and charge its strategic potential. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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