Energy diplomacy: West Germany, the Soviet Union and the oil crises of the 1970s

This article analyzes West German energy policy and negotiations with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Archival sources from the West German government show that long-term energy diplomacy became a carefully built link which guaranteed cooperation even during political crises,such as the one in 1980/81. This article argues that energy diplomacy catalyzed Brandt’s Ostpolitik. In particular, na…