Westpolitik

[ vest-poh-li-teek ]

noun

1. a policy of a Communist country of adopting trade and diplomatic relations with non-Communist nations.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Westpolitik¹

1965–70; < German: Western policy

Example Sentences

Gorbachev's Westpolitik -- the INF treaty, his subtle wooing of the West Europeans with the notion of a "common European homeland," his gestures toward disarmament that have already propelled him in European public opinion polls higher than the President of the U.S. -- is calculated to advance the most important Soviet geopolitical objective of all, the detachment of Western Europe from America.

From Time Magazine Archive

Once his Westpolitik was launched, Brandt began a complex series of diplomatic maneuvers with the East.

From Time Magazine Archive

He has been the crucial partner in Brandt's policy of Ostpolitik, and has formed a more protective Westpolitik of his own, which seeks to preserve ideological conformity �especially in Eastern Europe�by providing more material benefits.

From Time Magazine Archive

Honecker has not yet given up on his notion of Westpolitik, however.

From Time Magazine Archive