The Impact of German Reunification on Changing U.S. National Security Interests in Central Europe

Abstract

U.S. relations with Central Europe are largely driven by our policies towards modern Germany. Those policies comprise the weighing of various objectives, issues and concerns, old and new, and prioritizing them so as to promote U.S. national interests in our relations with Germany. Revisions of existing U.S.-German positions are necessary, due to the recently completed and ongoing changes occurring in Central Europe and in the U.S., and in a vastly different international system. The United States should pursue objective which provide for immediate safety of our public, property and resources and promote U.S. economic vitality and prosperity. We should seek Central European stability, since we are inexorably tied to Europe, while supporting a greater German role in the region, the European order, and the Western world. we must maintain a watchful eye for historic German tendencies to destabilize Europe, enhanced in her reunified potential which could jeopardize our interests. Our policies should be consistent though malleable when necessary to enable us to select the options to attain our objectives. Relations with a reunified Germany are influenced by remnants of past U.S.-German conflicts, by uncertainties of present circumstances and by anticipation of how global system changes will affect the future. U.S. policy towards Germany must also recognize the ominous possibilities of certain characteristics of German society, aim to promote common interests, purposes and values, and take into account non-security concerns like the environment and human rights

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 05, 1992
Accession Number
ADA264916

Entities

People

  • Edward J. Majewski Jr.

Organizations

  • Georgetown University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Central Europe
  • Economic Systems
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Foreign Relations
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Market Economy
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Political Systems
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Western Europe

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Strategic Security Studies