Trading Power
West Germany's Rise to Global Influence, 1963–1975

Highlights how West Germany leveraged its economic power to become a key pillar of the global order in the 1960s and 1970s.

William Glenn Gray (Author)

9781108424646, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 November 2022

475 pages
23.5 x 16 x 3.3 cm, 0.85 kg

'Gray's style is always closely oriented to the sources, which enables him to innovatively capture some facets of Bonn's interwoven national politics and its orientation in the world. He does not shy away from clear, and above all critical, statements and labels, which are also fed by internal US or French sources. This makes the book a stimulating and innovative read. The reconstruction of the struggles of everyday political work in the cabinet and in major politics, sometimes supplemented by the eagle eye of global classification, represent the central achievements of an important volume.' Jost Dülffer, Sehepunkte

Trading Power traces the successes and failures of a generation of German political leaders as the Bonn Republic emerged as a substantial force in European, Atlantic, and world affairs. Over the course of the 1960s and 1970s, West Germans relinquished many trappings of hard power, most notably nuclear weapons, and learned to leverage their economic power instead. Obsessed with stability and growth, Bonn governments battled inflation in ways that enhanced the international position of the Deutsche Mark while upending the international monetary system. Germany's remarkable export achievements exerted a strong hold on the Soviet bloc, forming the basis for a new Ostpolitik under Willy Brandt. Through much trial and error, the Federal Republic learned how to find a balance among key Western allies, and in the mid-1970s Helmut Schmidt ensured Germany's centrality to institutions such as the European Council and the G-7 – the newly emergent leadership structures of the West.

Introduction
1. The unraveling of Adenauer's grand strategy (1962–1963)
2. America's junior partner (1963–1964)
3. Twenty years after (1964–1965)
4. The stability imperative (1965–1966)
5. Gaullist temptations (1966–1968)
6. The magnetism of prosperity (1967–1968)
7. A decisive election (1969)
8. The zenith of Ostpolitik (1970)
9. The European pendulum (1970–1972)
10. Hazards from the Global South (1970–1972)
11. The embattled chancellor (1971–1972)
12. The center of Europe (1973)
13. The crisis management team (1973–1974)
14. New structures for the West (1974–75)
Conclusion
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]