ABSTRACT
The formative years of the Alliance span the ten years from the end of World War Two to the entry of the Federal Republic in 1955. These are the years during which the post-war order took shape, the time in which nations emerged from a war-torn landscape and sought the best way forward. For many, a security alliance was not the immediate priority. The first, culminating in the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949, involved a gradual, at times grudging, recognition that the Soviet Union posed an increasing threat to a weakened and divided Europe. It became apparent during this period that the political and economic stability necessary to counter the threat could only be brought about through transatlantic solidarity. The debate that is now taking place, on these and related issues, has fuelled speculation that the Alliance is heading for a major crisis.
