Ostpolitik and the CSCE

Since 1966, both the trend towards détente and the project of a conference on security in Europe went through various phases before finally resulting in a process leading to the creation of the CSCE in 1972. Détente and the CSCE process both focussed on the territorial order in Europe to which the German question still held the key, and on the lessening of tensions in East-West relations and the expansion of contacts between Western and Eastern Europe . The CSCE's Final Act, signed on August 1 st , 1975 , in Helsinki , finally offered a perspective on how the division of the continent in the Cold War might eventually be overcome. Support for this vision varied according to the different actors and their motives. As seen from the Federal Republic of Germany, the CSCE at least offered an opportunity to work for greater permeability of the inner-German border and – in the long reach – for an end to the nation's division. Bonn 's second long-term goal was the liberalisation of Eastern Europe by opening up the Soviet empire to the West, thus weakening the hold of the Soviet Union 's hegemonic power over its allies. The reactions of the Warsaw Pact's member states ranged from open rapprochement to feeling threatened, according to their national interests and self-perception. More, please click here.

The study aims to analyse the developing policies and goals of the Federal Republic of Germany in connection with those of its major Western allies during the years of détente, 1966-1975. The origins, politics and ultimate goals of the Neue Ostpolitik devised by Brandt and Bahr are the focus of all research conducted within the framework of the project. "National interest" and "growing up" remained key terms in the public debate of the 1970s, signalling a new phase in West German history and a deep desire for more independence in international affairs than had hitherto been possible. Bonn acquired a greater influence within the Western alliance, and greater room for manoeuvre towards the Eastern bloc and vis-à-vis the so-called Third-World. The controversy over the nature and significance of German national interest in 1989/90 all but neglected the results and definitions arrived at almost two decades earlier. It is within this context that the project aims to analyse the relations between the FRG and its major Western allies (the United States, France and Britain), as well as considering the overall context of European integration and East-West détente. More, please click here.