ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses the sociological dynamics of the military relationship between West Germany and the United States (US) in an attempt to understand how these dynamics affect the political and diplomatic relationship between the two countries. It presents a general “report card” on the status of the US military presence in Germany in sociopolitical terms. The country in focus is the Federal Republic of Germany. West Germany represents, perhaps, the most important case study for three reasons: the length of time US forces have remained, the size of the forces, and the importance of the country to US strategic interests. US forces swarmed over Germany in 1945 as a conquering force. The strategic relationship of West Germany to the US has an interesting and peculiar psychological dimension, which is crucial to the sociopolitical analysis.
