ABSTRACT
The central theme of this volume touches upon the two most dominant characteristics of post-war foreign policy in the Netherlands: the search for security in a transatlantic setting and the pursuit of economic growth and development in an integrated European context. The Hague preferred to keep the two policy aims strictly separate, advocating a clear-cut division of responsibilities. Ideally, the United States and NATO should deal with power politics, defence and East-West relations, while – simultaneously – the European Community (EC) should focus on the opening of markets and facilitating a level playing field for firms operating in the Community. In the Dutch view, the EC had to be left out of the Cold War struggle. This was a policy line firmly held by successive cabinets throughout the 1960s. It was only from 1971 that European integration came to be cautiously linked to the process of détente, but even then NATO continued to be the dominating factor in the debate about high politics in the Netherlands.
