Thesis-1993-Matthews.pdf (9.57 MB)
Political relations between the two German states, 1979–1989
thesis
posted on 2018-01-12, 16:09 authored by Sarah L. MatthewsThe thesis discusses the development of German–German relations in the 1980s in
terms of their interaction with the overall East–West climate. An examination of the
basic positions of the major parties in the two German states on Deutschlandpolitik
since 1949 establishes the domestic parameters within which the governments had to
conduct their relations in the 1980s. The international framework for those relations
was created by the conclusion of a series of treaties in the early 1970s within the
process of detente. The treaties the Federal Republic concluded with the East European
states and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe are therefore
evaluated. An outline of the onset of the second Cold War considers the issues of
rearmament, nuclear parity, crises in the developing world and the economic situation
in Eastern Europe, and their relative roles in the deterioration of the superpower
relationship.
The main focus of the thesis investigates whether the two German states were able to
counter East–West confrontation and play a constructive role in continuing and
developing the detente process. By assessing the development of German–German
relations in the early 1980s, it is possible to determine how much room for manoeuvre
the two German states were able to develop, independent of their alliance leaders, and
whether this provided them with sufficient influence to act as a facton for the
preservation of peace in Europe. The period after 1985 is examined in the same light,
with a consideration of whether the apparent synchronisation of German–German and
superpower relations relieved the two German states of their function as champions of
dialogue. Within this context, the development of a security dimension in German–German
relations is explored, and emphasis is given to the role of the SPD and SED in
this sphere.
History
School
- Social Sciences
Department
- Politics and International Studies
Publisher
© Sarah Louise MatthewsPublisher statement
This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 2.5 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/Publication date
1993Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy at Loughborough University.Language
- en