European affairs continue their rapid evolution in the new post-cold war era. Currently, many of our Western European allies are pressing toward greater economic, political and military integration as they attempt to create a unified Europe. Without any doubt, at the heart of this drive to achieve greater integration is the Franco-German bilateral relationship, upon which the eventual success in achieving a unified Europe is widely recognized as being dependent. The Strategic Studies Institute has taken a particular interest in this subject which is often unappreciated in the United States and published an earlier study, The Franco-German Concordat: The Key to Future Western European Security and Stability, in February 1990. This complex relationship has undergone important changes since that time. One of the authors of that study, Dr. Thomas-Durell Young, presented a paper on the subject at the Aspen Institute Berlin in April 1991, which afforded the opportunity to revisit the subject. Dr. Young argues that current difficulties in the relationship, albeit potentially serious, are not terminal. A healthy Paris-Bonn relationship is in U.S. interests, he argues, and provides policy recommendations to U.S. officials to encourage its repair. The author would like to express his gratitude to Colonels John J. Hickey, Paul G. Davenport and Robert R. Ulin, and Monsieur Francois Heisbourg, for their constructive comments made on earlier drafts of this manuscript. The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to offer this essay as a contribution to the field of European security studies. Karl W. Robinson Col., US Army Director, SSI Back to Table of Contents Franco-German Relationship in the TransAtlantic Security Framework Back to SSI List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by US Army War College. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com