Rempel traces pivotal events in the development of the bilateral relationship between Canada and West Germany, from Canada's policy on the admission of West Germany into NATO in 1954-55, through Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's 1969 decision to reduce Canada's forces in Europe by half, to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's 1992 decision to withdraw Canadian military forces from Europe entirely. He looks at the development of the missions and functions of the Canadian forces in Germany and assesses why Canada has failed in its efforts to integrate the political, economic, and military dimensions of its foreign policy.

Counterweights highlights the profound implications of Canada's failure to develop a coordinated defence policy to support its international objectives in its present-day relations with both Europe and the United States.

Roy Rempel, senior policy advisor, Breakout Educational Network, is the author of Counterweights: The Failure of Canada's German and European Policy, 1955-1995 and Chatter Box: An Insider's Account of the Increasing Irrelevance of Parliament in the Making

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"[Counterweights] fills a rather serious gap in studies on Canadian-German post-war relations. Though largely unresearched, this dimension of Canadian foreign and defence policy is key to a full understanding of the broad issues and the weaknesses of Canadian external affairs." [translation] Paul Létourneau, Departément d'histoire, Université de Montréal.
"Rempel's fascinating overview of postwar foreign and defence relations documents not only Canada's failure to develop an ideal complementary relationship with a Germany rich in investment capital and technology but also a consistent inability to identify national interests and devise and manage policy effectively. His trenchant analysis depicts a troubling picture: a still immature country uncertain of direction and purpose, capable of considerable self-delusion. Counterweights should be required reading for politicians as well as foreign and defence officials." General Gerard Thériault, former Chief of Defence Staff, 1983-86.