Author Description

Germany has emerged as the key actor in post-Cold War Europe, which will increasingly influence the prosperity and stability of the whole of Europe. This study examines how a judicious and balanced application of Ostpolitik (Eastern Policy) from 1949 to the present had enabled Germany to enhance its maneovrability in foreign policy, expand its economic and political influence, and multilateralise the process of detente. It highlights Willy Brandt's attempts to overcome the rigidity and immobilism in foreign policy which threatened to politically isolate the Federal Republic and led to a straightjacketing of its policy options vis-a-vis the East, the West and the Third World. It assesses the implications of the Eastern treaties and discusses Helmut Schmidt's efforts to consolidate the political, economic, and humanitarian benefits of Ostpolitik and safeguard the carefully nurtured process of detente in Europe from the vicissitudes of Super Power relations. This book analyzes the Federal Republic's economic relations with its eastern neighbours and examines the elements of continuity and change in Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Ostpolitik. In conclusion, Dr Jain critically evaluates the implications of united Germany for both East and West Europe.