Overview

Established scholars on both sides of the Atlantic offer a broad perspective of the central themes in German-American relations in the twentieth century and show how the most current developments have evolved. This interpretive survey helps fill a major gap in the literature covering the long-term relationships between Germany and the United States and demonstrates how liberal democratic values have been upheld. Policymakers concerned with U.S. foreign policy and German and European relations will find this edited collection illuminating. Students and scholars in government, international relations, and European studies will find this work valuable. This edited collection describes the mixture of idealism with which American foreign policy has traditionally viewed republican government and peaceful international relations and the pragmatism involved in securing American interests after 1945 and supporting a prosperous German republic. At the same time it deals with the extent to which German objectives have been consistent with American goals. The book begins with a discussion of the Kantian ideal of an international civil society and its place in the tradition of U.S. foreign policy. The middle chapters deal with the evolution of that tradition from Wilsonian precepts after World War I to American tutelage in the establishment and protection of the Federal Republic. The final chapters confront Germany's place in Europe after 1989 and attempt to answer the question: Has American idealism been realistic?