The legacy of World War II and the division of Eastern and Western Europe produced a radical asymmetry, and a variety of misgivings and misunderstandings, in French and German experiences of the nuclear age. At the same time, however, political actors in both nations continually labored to reconcile their differences and engage in productive strategic dialogue. Grounded in cutting-edge research and freshly discovered archival sources, France, Germany, and Nuclear Deterrence teases out the paradoxical nuclear interactions between France and Germany from 1954 to the present day.

Table of Contents:
List of Abbreviations Introduction Nicolas Badalassi and Frédéric Gloriant Part I: From the Beginning of the Franco-German Strategic Dialogue to the Nuclear Ambiguities of the ‘Adenauer/de Gaulle’ Era Chapter 1. Raymond Aron, Germany and the Atomic Bomb Joël Mouric Chapter 2. France and the Abandoned Dream of a European Bomb, 1954–1958 Jenny Raflik Chaper 3. From Bonn to Valhalla? West German Nuclear Ambitions, France, and U.S. Nuclear Assistance, 1960–1963 Andreas Lutsch Chapter 4. De Gaulle’s Nuclear Policy, West Germany and the Second Berlin Crisis: A Historiographical Reappraisal, 1958–1963 Frédéric Gloriant Part II: Ostpolitik and the Franco-German Nuclear Relations in the 1970s Chapter 5. ‘Military Cooperation Is Not in Itself an Instrument of Progress’: The Role of the French Nuclear Deterrent in Early Concepts of Ostpolitik Benedikt Schoenborn Chapter 6. Implicit Convergence? Franco-German Relations, European Security and Nuclear Cooperation in the Era of Ostpolitik, 1969–1974 Nicolas Badalassi Chapter 7. French Deterrence, the Defence of Europe and the German Question, 1975–1983 Ilaria Parisi Part III: The ‘Mitterrand/Kohl’ Era and the End of the Cold War Chapter 8. Evolution of the French Nuclear Strategy towards Germany during Mitterrand’s Presidency Dominique Mongin Chapter 9. France and the FRG during the 1980s: When Strategic Questions Became Political Debates Yannick Pincé Chapter 10. ‘Not a Nuclear Switzerland’: France’s Deterrent Posture and the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1980s Frédéric Bozo Part IV: Nuclear Uncertainties in the Post-Cold War Era Chapter 11. France, Germany and Nuclear Deterrence Since the End of the Cold War: From Estrangement to Rapprochement? Guillaume de Rougé Chapter 12. Walking Together in Different Directions: Prospects for French-German Cooperation on Nuclear Deterrence and Arms Control after the End of the Cold War Oliver Meier Appendix: Figures of the French Nuclear Arsenal and of the U.S. Nuclear Warheads Deployed in NATO-Europe Index