The GDR, GSFG and WTO

Abstract

The concept of strategic overstretch somewhat obviously implies that a state has made too many international commitments in relation to its resources. The fundamental choice for an overextended power then is what interests are central and hence to be held onto and which can be abandoned because they are not worth the costs. For the Soviets, there was simply no question that Eastern Europe was paramount to their conception of national security. Of these countries, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was probably their most important ally in the Cold War. The GDR was, with some notable exceptions, one of the strongest supporters of Soviet foreign policy, had one of the most modern armies among the non-Soviet WTO states, and most importantly, provided the USSR with a forward base for the Soviet Army. At the same time, the costs of maintaining the socialist regimes in Eastern Europe were very high.