Sino-American Relations, 1945-1955: A Joint Reassessment of a Critical Decade (review)

Abstract

nuclear status forces the Federal Republic to rely on the United States for nuclear protection; on the other hand, if war should occur, the United States has an understandable interest in limiting it to Europe and preventing the involvement of U.S. territory in a nuclear conflagration. Geopolitically, the U.S. strategy for containing the Soviets has increasingly been at odds with the West German desire for improving relations with East Germany and Eastern Europe. Here the Federal Republic confronts the difficulty of cultivating relations with Eastern Europe, especially through the new minidétente with East Berlin, without compromising its loyalties to the West. Although the Federal Republic has profited from participating in the open international economy, as the United States so strongly advocated it do at the end of World War II, it has been forced to adjust to "the relative weakening of America's postwar economic hegemony." The Federal Republic's international orientation now leaves it vulnerable to the consequences ofAmerican imbalances. Fluctuations in the dollar and the impact of high U.S. interest rates on German capital markets burden the Federal Republic's economic position at home and abroad. Hanrieder's masterful survey is replete with insight into the forces that have shaped West Germany's relations with its allies and adversaries. Authoritative and comprehensive, this study is a must for all those seeking a greater understanding of Germany's role in Europe and the world.