Reviews

Timed to coincide with the Reagan-Gorbachev summit meeting in November, here are the Henry L. Stimson Lectures delivered at Yale by the former chancellor of West Germany. Schmidt's subtitle sums up his view that the West desperately needs to repair its present disarray, which finds Europe politically leaderless and dominated by the ``high-handed unilateral decisionmaking'' of the U.S. He is frank about the perils posed by the ``second Cold War'' in which the superpowers seem engaged, and argues for a Western buildup of conventional forces with simultaneous negotiations for real nuclear-arms reductions with the U.S.S.R. Schmidt is statesmanlike and balanced in his proposals for a grand strategy, discussing economic and ecological issues as well as military-political perils. He views the U.S. budget deficit as a ``time bomb,'' and Reagan's Star Wars plan as stemming from an obsession with a ``worst case'' scenario, to which Schmidt responds with his own 19-point ``best case'' proposal. November 20

There are two very good reasons for reading this book. The first is the author, the second the ideas. Schmidt, Chancellor of West Germany from 1972 until 1984, is considered to be the most outstanding German leader since Adenauer. His central thesis here is that purely national strategies are incapable of achieving political, economic, or security goals given the interlocking and interdependent nature of the Western world. He examines the policies of the United States and Europe with respect to the USSR, the global economy, the Middle East, the Far East, and Central America. He finds fragmentation, inconsistency, and a lack of leadership and cohesion. He suggests that the political, economic, and security areas of policy are not separable and that harmonization of policy in each area is necessary to achieve the goals in all areas. Schmidt's insights into the politics of the Western alliance demand attention. Highly recommended. Richard B. Finnegan, Political Science Dept., Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.