From Ostpolitik to Reunification: West German-Soviet Political Relations since 1974

by Avril Pittman

Overview

This book explores the development of relations between West Germany and the Soviet Union. Avril Pittman examines from a West German perspective four issues central to this relationship in the 1970s and early 1980s. She looks at the position of ethnic Germans living in the Soviet Union; the central role of Berlin; the triangular relationship among West Germany, the Soviet Union and East Germany; and the effects of the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. In her concluding chapter, the author outlines the historic opening of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany and assesses the extent to which they represent a continuity in West German-Soviet relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521401661
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/30/1992
Series:	Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies , #85
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.41(h) x 0.91(d)

Table of Contents

List of tables; Preface; Note on text; Chronology; Introduction; 1. The Second World War and its aftermath, 1945–1974; 2. Ethnic Germans; 3. Berlin; 4. The Federal Republic of Germany's relations with the German Democratic Republic; 5. INF, Afghanistan and the post-Afghanistan period; 6. Assessment of the Federal Republic of Germany's relations with the Soviet Union, 1974–1982; 7. The Federal Republic of Germany's political relations with the Soviet Union after 1982; Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This book should interest specialists and students of German and Soviet foreign policy as well as students of international relations." Ieuan G. John, Times Higher Education Supplement

"The book's major strength is the empirical discussion of Schmidt's Ostpolitik and its four central concerns: the situation of ethnic Germans, the status of Berlin, West Germany's relationship with East Germany and the twin impact of the decision to deploy American intermediate-range weapons in Germany and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on FRG-Soviet ties." Angela Stent, Slavic Review

From the Publisher