The Oslo Conference, 1955

Abstract

THERE maturity in the discussion of problems in international relations. By this standard the Oslo Conference1 on Democracies and World Problems set a high standard. It was convened a moment when the Federal Republic of Germany had been admitted to full membership in NATO ; when sovereignty had lately been restored to Austria as one earnest of European recovery, when the United Nations was rounding out ten years of activity, and when it was expected that the Geneva meetings at the summit might add to a developing mentality of public confidence without overdoing the great power, (or perhaps more correctly, a Big Four) emphasis in the maintenance of peace throughout the world. The Conference had the additional advantage of participants skilled in parliamentary or international negotiations: of the forty-four delegates, ten were or had been members of national parliaments, thirteen were in academic posts and least twelve others had had a professional connection either with the conduct of international business or the serious study of international affairs. The June sunshine of Oslo, the sturdy democratic spirit of the Norwegian people, and the ready currency of the English language all combined to make the Conference a pleasant and an enlarging experience. For purposes of discussion the Conference was divided into three groups, whose fields of reference may be summarized as follows: first, the problem in terms of Western and Soviet policies; the impact of new weapons on East-West