ABSTRACT
The bipolar international system is widely supposed to have been the central feature of international politics during the second half of the twentieth century in Europe. Although the German debate over political order resisted simple partisan classification, it was nevertheless heavily freighted with ideological and normative rhetoric. This chapter follows the constructivist lead in paying close attention to the way language works to produce normative effect. Drawing especially on the contributions of language- or rule-oriented constructivists, it anticipates that this is done in only a limited number of ways, and that these limits may serve as a useful guide to the debate over Westpolitik. The Kantian and Lockean approaches to establishing Germany's position within Europe were crystallized in the positions of the West Germany's first Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and opposition party leader Kurt Schumacher. Finally, the chapter explores the depth of Adenauer and Schumacher's convictions about political order.
