ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes bilateral assistance programs rather than the entire range of German and American support for the transition. Meanwhile, political developments in both the donor and recipient countries have weakened the domestic consensus for funding assistance programs; as a result, the size and scope of both German and American assistance programs have been reduced in the last several years. To illustrate this argument, the chapter examines the negotiation, ratification, and implementation of the key decisions underpinning U.S and German assistance programs: the Freedom Support Act of 1992 in the United States and the economic components of the German-Soviet Treaty on Good Neighborly Relations, Partnership, and Cooperation in 1991. The United States focused on securing issues related to strategic weapons, nuclear materials, and the implementation of arms control agreements. It also allowed domestic political concerns to influence the types and timing of U.S assistance programs. There is evidence to suggest that these circumstances will not continue in the years ahead.
