Foreign policy formulation and implementation is, for the most part, associated within the parameters of an executive centred examination. Moreover, foreign policy when it deals with a political party, is nearly always explored within the confines of a party in government. There are, however, circumstances that challenge both of these premises. The German political system allows for a substantial influence of political parties in foreign affairs as well as the leverage of opposition parties in influencing foreign policy of the government. Given the particular character of the German political system, political parties there have been able to influence foreign policy much more than those of other Western European nation-states. This thesis examines the influence of the Social Democratic Party of West Germany (SPD) on foreign policy and the party's attempt to practice foreign policy while in opposition. During the mid-1980s, the West German Social Democratic Party conducted negotiations and produced three joint proposals with the East German Socialist Unity Part (SED). This thesis specifically examines these three joint proposals, known as the "Common Dialogue," produced by the two parties from the years 1984 to 1987. The first two SPD-SED proposals relate to security affairs and attempt to create a chemical and a nuclear weapons free zone in Central Europe. The third proposal formulated a set of ideological norms in order to establish a political "culture of dispute" in which opposing Eastern and Western viewpoints could be argued without the threat of conflict. The SPD's intention was to put pressure on its own government as well to pressure the military blocs with the aim of replacing the established practice of deterrence with the new concept of "common security".
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:657885 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Moeller, Richard R. |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/20693 |
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