Western Diplomacy Since 1945

Abstract

Western diplomacy since 1945 has been mainly concerned with its relations with the Communist bloc. In the period of co-operation immediately after the war, the United Nations was established, war criminals were tried, peace trea ties were made with Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Rumania, and Finland, and the Marshall Plan—originally designed for all Europe—was initiated. Relations, however, deteriorated by a process of action and reaction publicly manifested by Churchill's Fulton speech in the spring of 1947 in which he referred to the Iron Curtain. The Soviet take-over of European satellites, the Truman Doctrine, the formation of NATO, the Communi zation of China, the Korean war, and the initiation of atomic rivalry maintained a condition of Cold War. The death of Stalin in 1953 and the advent of Khrushchev led to more peace ful coexistence. The Korean war and the Indo-Chinese war were ended. A summit conference was held; the Asian and African countries met in Bandung, and the United States and the Soviet Union acted together to stop aggression at Suez. There was some liberalization in Poland, but Hungary was crushed when it attempted to break away from the Soviet bloc. Disarmament negotiations made little progress, and stability continued to depend on a balance of terror. Communism penetrated Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Western policy of containment and deterrence by threats of massive retaliation had not prevented a great decrease in the Western relative power position, relative economy, and relative reputa tion in the underdeveloped world. A new policy looking to ward a world secure for all states seems in order.