The West German Arms Industry and Arms Exports

The term “exterminism” was introduced into the debate by Thompson E.P. (editor), Exterminism and Cold War (London: Verso, 1982).

United Nations, “Study on the Relationship between Disarmament and Development. Report of the Secretary General” (A/36/356, October 5, 1981).

See for example Luckham Robin , “Militarisation and the New International Anarchy,” in Third World Quarterly, Vol 6, No 2, 1984, pp 351–373. Luckham refuses to accept the term “New International Economic Order” since “what stares them [the people] in the face is anarchy”, p 351. This anarchy is reinforced, not removed, by military efforts. For a discussion of contemporary militarism see the collection of papers by Asbjorn Eide and Marek Thee (editors), Problems of Contemporary Militarism (London: Croom Helm, 1980).

Kaldor Mary , The Baroque Arsenal (New York: Hill and Wang, 1981), succinctly describes the consequences of the technologic of modern weapon systems, their development, production, and procurement.

For an excellent historical account of the relationship between the state, the military, military and war, see Krippendorff Ekkehart , Staat und Krieg (Frankfurt/Main: Edition Suhrkamp, 1985).

Lock Peter , “Armaments Dynamics: an Issue in Development Strategies,” Alternatives, Vol VI, No 2, 1980, pp 157–178.

The current intensified military orientation of research and development resulting from the SDI program is a case in point.

Pearson Frederic S. , “Necessary Evil: Perspectives on West German Arms Transfer Policies,” Armed Forces & Society, Vol 12, No 4, 1986, pp 525–552, introduces his analysis this way: “The German phrase unvermeidliches Uebel (necessary evil) captures the essential dilemma of the Federal Republic's arms transfer policies; it could also be translated, ‘unavoidable evil’. Both are apt descriptions of the German approach to the transfer of arms, especially since the 1960s.”.

This section is based on Brzoska Michael , “The Federal Republic of Germany,” Ball Nicole Leitenberg Milton (editors), The Structure of the Defense Industry (London and Canberra: Croom Helm, 1983), pp 111–139.

On German re-armament see Albrecht Ulrich , Die Wiederaufrüstung der BRD (Koeln: Pahl-Rugenstein, 1974); and R. McGeehan, The German Rearmament Question (Urbana, Chicago and London: University of Illinois Press, 1971).

Brzoska, op cit, note 9, p 111.

Ibid..

Ibid, p 115.

Ibid, p 116.

This has been described in detail in Schomacker Koeln Wilke Peter Wulf Herbert , Alternative Produktion statt Ruestung Koeln: Bund-Verlag, 1987), pp 17–38.

Several studies on West German arms exports have been published, among them: Albrecht Ulrich , Politik und Waffengeschaeft (Muenchen: Hanser 1971); Ulrich Albrecht, Peter Lock, Herbert Wulf, Ruestung und Arbeitsplaetze (Reinbeck: Rowohlt, 1978); Eckehart Ehrenberg, Der deutsche Ruestungsexport (Muenchen: Bernhard & Graefe, 1981); and Michael Brzoska, Ruestungsexportpolitik (Frankfurt/Main: Haag & Herchen, 1986). For a short account of West Germany's export policy in English see Frederic S. Pearson, op cit, note 8.

Pearson, op cit, note 8, pp 529–530.

Ibid, p 531.

This section is based on Klaus Schomacker, Peter Wilke, Herbert Wulf, op cit, note 15.

Ibid, pp 79–91.

See Wulf Herbert , “West European Cooperation and Competition in Arms Procurement: Experiences, Problems, Prospects,” Arms Control, Vol 7, No 2, 1986, pp 177–196.

Pearson, op cit, note 8, pp 537–538.

For further details see Brzoska, op cit, note 9.

See the verdict: Schriftliche Urteilsverkuendung, Landgericht Duesseldorf, x-64/83, 810/8 Js 489/80, dated 30 May 1986.

This classification is due on a comment by Michael Brzoska.

New York Times, 29 March, 1987.

This section is based on the results of an empirical research project carried out in West Germany in cooperation with labor unions and published in Schomacker, Wilke, Wulf, op cit, note 15.

Gordon Suzanne McFadden Dave (editors), Economic Conversion: Revitalizing America's Economy (Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1984): Robert W. DeGrasse.