West German-American relations and a new 'order of peace' for Europe, 1969-1970

The Ostpolitik pursued by the German government of Chancellor Willy Brandt during the early 1970s aimed at normalizing the relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and its Eastern neighbours, and at building a new European security system. Nevertheless, the German government felt compelled to gradually reappraise its aspirations in order to obtain the support and the cooperation of the Western Alliance and especially of the United States. This article examines the case of the negotiations for the reduction of the military presence in central Europe, which initially represented a fundamental component of Brandt's projects: Washington's refusal to endorse early negotiations with the Soviet Union on this subject determined a first major reassessment of Ostpolitik in Bonn. © 2010 Board of Transatlantic Studies.