Searching for a counterweight: Canadian-German defence and security policy relations and cooperation in the Cold War era

This study focuses on Canadian and German Defence and Security Policy Cooperation as it developed and evolved in the NATO context prior to 1989. In this period, the Federal Republic evolved, in many ways, into Canada's most important political, economic and military partner in Europe. Indeed, certainly in the 1970's, in addition to Canada's long-standing diplomatic interest in a close political relationship with Germany, was added the recognition that Germany would be the key to Canada's search for both a deeper economic and trading relationship with Europe and for a more diversified and balanced series of international relationships generally.; For the Federal Republic, on the other hand, Canada, and particularly in this respect its military presence in Germany, had above all a strong political and symbolic significance. In the Cold War era, the military guarantees offered by the Alliance generally and by Germany's Allies in particular, were seen as essential and indispensable elements in West Germany's continued independence and security. Indeed, in this respect, the American military commitment was absolutely central. It was thus in this derivative context in particular that Canada's political importance to Germany, as the Alliance's second North American power, was enhanced.; The study therefore examines the interaction of the political, diplomatic, economic and military dimensions of the relationship and examines the extent to which both Canadian as well as German expectations and objectives in the relationship were realized and the extent to which they were not. It is my thesis that there has been a failure in Canada to utilize effectively defence and military policy for the achievement of wider political objectives. Given the important place that the security dimension had in the German policy framework, this shortcoming in Canadian policy was instrumental in preventing the development of the Canadian-German bilateral relationship to its full potential. As a result, the opportunity to more fully develop a German and European counterweight in Canada's foreign policy relationships was missed.