Uneasy Allies British-German Relations and European Integration since 1945

by Larres, Klaus; Meehan, Elizabeth

• ISBN13: 9780198293835
• ISBN10: 0198293836
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, fundamental differences in values and policy can be discerned in British-German relations. For historical, political, and economic reasons, the collective memories of both nations have retained very different identities and attitudes towards eachother and towards the European continent and European integration. Yet, Britain is one of the most significant European partners for Germany and Germany is of great importance for Britains role in Europe. This book focuses on the influence of European integration on the policies of Britain andGermany towards each other. It considers British-German relations in the context of European integration in their historical dimensions since 1945. Britains ambiguous policy towards the GDR and Mrs Thatchers opposition to German unification are also discussed. In particular, the book focuses on thepost-1990 relationship and examines the political, security related, economic and financial as well as the social aspects of the dynamic British-German relations in an ever more interdependent world. The influence of the US and France on both Germany and Britain and their European policies istherefore considered in detail. This book offers interesting and challenging insights into the evolution of British-German relations within the context of European integration in the post-Second World War and post-Unification era. The book argues that throughout the latter half of the twentiethcentury Britain and Germany can be characterised as uneasy allies. It is only since the late 1990s Britain and Germany appear to have become genuine partners in the context of European integration.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors	ix
Abbreviations	xiv
Introduction: Uneasy Allies or Genuine Partners? Britain, Germany, and European Integration	1	(26)
Klaus Larres
I. THE COLD WAR RELATIONSHIP
British-West German Relations, 1945-1972	27	(18)
Anne Deighton
British-West German Relations, 1973-1989	45	(18)
Julie Smith
Geoffrey Edwards
Britain and the GDR: Political and Economic Relations, 1949-1989	63	(36)
Klaus Larres
Britain and German Unification, 1989/90	99	(28)
Lothar Kettenacker
II. THE POST-COLD WAR RELATIONSHIP: POLITICS AND SECURITY SINCE 1990
Britain, Germany, and the Deepening of Europe: The Role of Domestic Norms and Institutions	127	(16)
Jim Buller
Charlie Jeffery
The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union	143	(22)
John Pinder
The American Dimension: Britain, Germany, and the Reinforcement of US Hegemony in Europe in the 1990s	165	(19)
Valur Ingimundarson
NATO or WEU? The Security Policy since 1990	184	(23)
Emil J. Kirchner
III. THE POST-COLD WAR RELATIONSHIP: THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DIMENSION SINCE 1990
Industrial and Commercial Cultures in Britain and Germany: Rivalry or Reconcilability?	207	(15)
Jeremy Leaman
European Union Social Policy: German and British Perspectives on Industrial Democracy	222	(18)
Elizabeth Meehan
The Creation of the Single Market and Britain's Withdrawal from the EMS	240	(16)
Iain Begg
Michael Wood
Financial Reporting and Accounting Harmonization in Germany and the UK: A Comparative Analysis	256	(21)
Patricia McCourt
George W. Radcliffe
Negotiating the Intergovernmental Conferences: Maastricht, Amsterdam, and Beyond	277	(22)
Robert Harmsen
Nickolas Reinhardt
Bibliography	299	(30)
Index	329