Dumbarton Oaks Conference Research Articles

“Dumbarton Oaks conference (1944) — towards the creation of the United Nations”

The article provides a thorough analysis of the documentary materials of the important international conference in Dumbarton Oaks (1944), which was preparatory to the creation of the United Nations. It was possible to agree on many issues about the structure, bodies, main goals and principles of the Organization at the conference. But several fundamental issues at Dumbarton Oaks could not be resolved. These are questions about initial membership in the UN (primary membership) and about the composition and voting procedure in the UN Security Council (the “veto” right). The author provides interesting information about the particularly heated discussions that erupted regarding the admission of four countries to the founding states of the UN: Poland, with which the Second World War began, and where the composition of the new Polish government was not fi nally formed, and the new borders of the Polish states; Argentina, which remained formally neutral during the Second World War, but where a pro-fascist government came to power in 1943, and only in 1945 Argentina was one of the last countries to declare war on Nazi Germany; as well as two Soviet republics — the Ukrainian USSR and the Byelorussian SSR — whose international status was adjusted in 1944 in accordance with amendments to the Constitution of the USSR in 1936, and which made a huge contribution to the Victory in World War II. The author convincingly showed how fi rmly and consistently the USSR defended its position on recognizing the leading role of the Soviet state in the world. The important historical significance of the Dumbarton Oaks conference (1944) is that it created the model of the United Nations, a central global security and peacekeeping organization that has existed for 80 years.

The Formation of the Arab League and the United Nations, 1944–5

While the Great Powers were meeting in Washington at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, representatives of the Arab states were meeting in Egypt to draft the Alexandria Protocol, the document that would lead to the establishment of the Arab League in March 1945. The idea of Arab Unity has a long history driven by intra-regional dynamics but the form that the League ultimately took of a regional organization rather than the political union many envisioned was largely a product of the wartime environment. The Arab states found both opportunity and potential threats in the Dumbarton Oaks proposals as they worked to develop their own postwar vision. Discussions of regional councils in the months preceding Dumbarton Oaks raised fears of a western-imposed regional order and served as the center of gravity that ultimately allowed them, for the moment, to overcome regional rivalries and join together in the Arab League. This case study contributes to the decolonization of diplomatic history by placing the Arab nationalist movement in its global context and demonstrates how the Arab states, for whom unity was viewed as a pathway to independence, appropriated wartime internationalist ideals in the later war years.

Chief Administrator or Political ‘Moderator’? Dumbarton Oaks, the Secretary-General and the Korean War

Seventy-five years after the creation of the United Nations at the Dumbarton Oaks conference, the secretary-general has become the de facto figurehead of the world organization and the office-holder is expected to take a proactive role in a whole range of global issues. Yet it remains unclear what powers the Allied planners intended for the secretary-general. By examining the discussions that took place on this issue before, during and after Dumbarton Oaks this article argues that despite the seemingly innocuous provisions relating to the secretary-general enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the office-holder was never intended to simply be a chief administrator. What is more, the first Secretary-General, Trygve Lie, controversially sought to resolve a number of issues that came before the United Nations, most notably the Korean War. The second half of this article thus demonstrates that while Lie did test the parameters of his office to the limits during the Korean conflict, none of his actions exceeded the powers granted to the secretary-general. Moreover, Lie’s role during the Korean War set the tone for his successor, Dag Hammarskjold, who is usually seen as the most proactive secretary-general to date.

International Law and Effectiveness in the Post—Cold War Era

The ILA/ASIL Gala Dinner was held from 8:00-10:00 pm on Friday, April 11. The speaker was Dr. Danilo Turk, former President of Slovenia. INTERNATIONAL LAW AND EFFECTIVENESS IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA Honorable Professor Ruth Wedgwood, President of the American Branch of the ILA and President-Elect of the ILA, Honorable Lord Manee, Chair of the ILA Executive Committee, Distinguished colleagues, ladies, and gentlemen, It is a great honor and privilege to address this important global gathering of international law specialists meeting at this first-ever joint conference of the International Law Association and the American Society for International Law. The conference has already been described as historical. I am convinced that your discussions over the past days--and the outcomes of these discussions--will fully justify this description. The presence of the great jurists who received awards and honors tonight--Alain Pellet, Cherif Bassiouni, Fatou Bensouda, and the winners of the Certificates of Merit--underscores further the special importance of this evening and of this conference. Let me add my voice to the many expressions of congratulation heard tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, The general, overarching subject of the conference is the question of the effectiveness of international law, a fundamental question always worthy of an in-depth discussion among legal scholars and practitioners. The venue for this discussion could not be more appropriate. Washington, DC is not only the capital of the United States and the seat of great economic, political, and military power. Washington is also a place where some of the most important ideas of international law have been developed and have guided the progressive development of the entire system of international law. Only a few miles away from here, in Dumbarton Oaks, in Washington, a comprehensive draft of the Charter of the United Nations was prepared in the summer of 1944, almost exactly seventy years ago. The work accomplished then led to the adoption of the UN Charter, without a doubt the most important instrument of international law of the past century and arguably the most important international treaty ever drafted. It is appropriate that at our meeting, seventy years later, we pay tribute to the drafters of the UN Charter, and in particular to Leo Pasvolsky of the U.S. Department of State, the spiritus agens of that process. The Dumbarton Oaks Conference remains an important source of inspiration for international lawyers today and will remain so in the future. The result of that Conference, the UN Charter, has stood the test of time and remains the centerpiece of the entire international system today. However, its effectiveness has often been challenged, and many of the expectations of its authors unfulfilled. The problem of effectiveness has been a persistent challenge for the United Nations since its early days, particularly in matters of maintenance of international peace and security. Critical commentators have rightly pointed out that even when the organization properly exercised its procedural potential, it was often unable to face the fundamental political issues that had to be resolved. This sentiment has existed from the beginning and grew as the Cold War paralyzed the mechanisms of the United Nations. But this aspect is not the only perspective from which one can assess the effectiveness of the system established by the UN Charter. It is remarkable that in the past seven decades, even at the time of the Cold War constraints, international cooperation and international law steadily progressed and the United Nations served as the most important vehicle of this progressive development. Seen in retrospect, the evolution of the second half of the 20th century has proven right those scholars and practitioners of international law who helped to use the UN system with a view to developing international rules of global cooperation. …

Mapping the end of empire: American and British strategic visions in the postwar world

By the end of World War II, strategists in Washington and London looked ahead to a new era in which the United States shouldered global responsibilities and Britain concentrated its regional interests more narrowly. The two powers also viewed the Muslim world through very different lenses. Mapping the End of Empire reveals how Anglo-American perceptions of geography shaped postcolonial futures from the Middle East to South Asia.Aiyaz Husain shows that American and British postwar strategy drew on popular notions of geography as well as academic and military knowledge. Once codified in maps and memoranda, these perspectives became foundations of foreign policy. In South Asia, American officials envisioned an independent Pakistan blocking Soviet influence, an objective that outweighed other considerations in the contested Kashmir region. Shoring up Pakistan meshed perfectly with British hopes for a quiescent Indian subcontinent once partition became inevitable. But serious differences with Britain arose over America's support for the new state of Israel. Viewing the Mediterranean as a European lake of sorts, U.S. officials--even in parts of the State Department--linked Palestine with Europe, deeming it a perfectly logical destination for Jewish refugees. But British strategists feared that the installation of a Jewish state in Palestine could incite Muslim ire from one corner of the Islamic world to the other.As Husain makes clear, these perspectives also influenced the Dumbarton Oaks Conference and blueprints for the UN Security Council and shaped French and Dutch colonial fortunes in the Levant and the East Indies.

De como o Brasil quase se tornou membro permanente do Conselho de Segurança da ONU em 1945

Este artigo busca investigar como surgiu e se desenvolveu a hipótese de que o Brasil se tornasse um dos membros permanentes do Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas quando a organização foi criada em 1945. As motivações do presidente Roosevelt ao fazer essa proposta em 1944, durante a Conferência de Dumbarton Oaks, as resistências encontradas, assim como a posição que adotou o governo brasileiro na Conferência de São Francisco, são analisadas com base em fontes de arquivo e documentos do período em estudo.

‘Aviation Will Either Destroy or Save Our Civilization’: Proposals for the International Control of Aviation, 1920—45

Proposals for the internationalization of civil aviation and the formation of an international air force blossomed in Britain, France and the United States between 1920 and 1945. The proposals were promoted by liberal internationalist constituencies in these three countries and reveal an enthusiasm for technocracy and technology within liberal internationalism. Aviation, internationalists argued, was too dangerous and held too much potential to be left in the hands of warring nations. It should instead be controlled by an international organization for the benefit of international peace and prosperity. Proposals were linked to the League of Nations in the interwar period and to the proposed United Nations Organization during the second world war. They were discussed at the 1932 League of Nations Geneva disarmament conference, and in 1944, at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference and the Chicago conference on international civil aviation.

What Does NCATE Have to Say to Future History Teachers? Not Much

According to current NCATE standards, social studies teachers must be well versed in economics, history, sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology, science and technology, and the arts. In short, they must know everything. Mr. Wineburg dismisses these standards as totally unrealistic and argues that prospective social studies teachers should be prepared to focus on a few crucial skills that will make a real difference in the lives of their students. EVERY SPRING Massachusetts tests young people on the history contained in its impressive 140-page standards document, the Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework. See how well you do on items high school students are asked to identify: * Battle at Fort Wagner * Younghill Kang's East Goes West * Ludwig von Mises * West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette1 Similarly, California initiated its Standardized Test and Reporting (STAR) Assessment in 2002, a test that aligns with that state's standards in history and social science. Try your luck with these items: * the fundamental principles in the philosophies of Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone; * the Allied strategy in the Battle of Okinawa; * the 442nd Regiment Combat Team, Hiram Johnson, and Dwight Moody; and * the legal issues in Adarand Constructors Inc. v. Pena.2 Following a protracted debate, Minnesota's legislature unveiled new standards in May 2004. Their 80-page, 26,512-word document included the following famous names and events: Baron Von Steuben, Margaret Fuller, and Alfred Thayer Mahan; the Treaties of Fort Stanwicks and Hopewell; the Panic of 1819; the Battle of Manilla Bay; the Sussex Pledge; the Dumbarton Oaks Conference; and the Omaha Platform of 1892.3 No, these standards are not aberrations, products of some loopy school board high on Jeopardy. They carry the legislative signatures of our most populous and influential states. Given the ubiquity of standards documents -- nearly every state has produced one in the last decade -- let's review what standards are supposed to be. Originally, had two meanings. A flag or image hoisted during battle, the of war rallied the troops behind a common cause. The second meaning comes from the ancient marketplace: hawkers of foodstuffs once employed a hodgepodge of weights, plying them according to whim and cupidity. Out of this farrago came a standard of measure - - a system of weights that applied equally to all. So it is supposed to be with our modern version of standards: knowledge whose importance is self-evident and which should form the inheritance of every citizen. Is Adarand Constructors Inc. v. Pena (a Supreme Court case about awarding contracts to minority firms) or the Panic of 1819 (a monetary shortage that left many Ohioans destitute) a fact that should be at everyone's fingertips? In Minnesota, every future welder and beautician in St. Paul, every soon-to-be bricklayer and physician's assistant in Duluth, every construction worker and waitress in Minneapolis should be able to demonstrate knowledge of South and East Asian civilizations (to choose one of the 27 substrands under History) by comparing and contrasting nations in terms of cultural universals of economic, political, social, religious, philosophical, and technological characteristics, which would include, among other things, knowledge of the Mohenjo-daro, Ashoka, Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasties, ancient Japan's Yamato period, and the writing of the Vedas in ancient India.4 Who knows? Who knows this stuff? One thing's for sure: it's not our kids, whose problems are of a different order of magnitude. Two-thirds can't even date the Civil War within the proper half century, and over half thought we fought the Soviet Union in World War II.5 Ask a high school student whether the Korean War came before or after World War II, and you are likely to be met with a blank stare. …

Louis Sohn: Grandfather of International Human Rights Law in the US

Louis Sohn: Grandfather of International Human Rights Law in the United States* Jo M. Pasqualucci (bio) “Louis Sohn has been affected by history as much as history has been affected by Louis Sohn.” 1 Introduction Dr. Louis Sohn has played a preeminent role for more than fifty years in the development of international law and the formation of international institutions. For the last half of this century he has patiently worked to build an international system that will protect individual human rights and provide for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. As a conciliator with a daunting intellect and an engaging nature, he brought divergent viewpoints together when it appeared that irreconcilable differences threatened a breakdown of international negotiations. His first such contributions proved important at the San Francisco Conference to draft the Charter of the United Nations and at the preceding Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the International Court of Justice. His suggestions for compromise at those conferences resulted in the passage of important provisions on the right to collective self-defense and the continuation of jurisdiction from the Permanent Court of International Justice to the International Court of Justice. As a professor at [End Page 924] Harvard Law School for more than thirty-five years, he mentored current leaders in international law such as Thomas Buergenthal, Thomas Franck, and Richard Bilder. Buergenthal said about Sohn: “His influence on our lives has been profound; he has affected our thinking and our professional careers in ways only truly great teachers do.” 2 Finally, as a meticulous researcher and scholar, Sohn has contributed to the codification and expansion of the law of the sea, international dispute resolution, and environmental law. In the words of the late Dean Rusk, former Secretary of State, “[Sohn] is a giant among international lawyers and has left a major imprint upon his chosen profession.” 3 Sohn is more than respected; he is loved. His kindness, willingness to mentor students, frequent laughter, and humble nature have endeared him to the many who have studied under him or worked with him. James Silkenat, the former Chairman of the International Law Section of the ABA, wrote: It has happened more times than I can count. There is a meeting with some dignitary: a Finance Minister in Africa, a small town mayor in Arizona, or the partner of a large law firm in London. As we walk across a room, a courtyard or an open field our conversation is interrupted by my host saying, “Oh, my gosh [or words to that effect]. Is that Professor Sohn over there? I must run over and say hello.” Almost no one in legal education, in legal practice, or in legal “anything” inspires more respect, admiration, and affection than Louis Sohn. 4 Jose Alvarez, Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, said of Sohn: “Here is someone who truly is owed deference, yet refuses to solicit it. Here is that rarity in our field—a giant whose humility and generosity to colleagues and students has no equal, yet who refuses to be treated as the giant that he truly is.” 5 II. Personal History Louis Bruno Sohn was born on 1 March 1914 to a Jewish family in Lwów, Poland. 6 His parents were both medical doctors. 7 He had one sister. When Louis was a young boy, his father insisted that he study languages. He was taught German and Latin at school and he learned French from a Swiss woman who lived nearby. It was much more difficult to study English. To do [End Page 925] so, he used an old-fashioned radio, holding a filament to a crystal and listening to the BBC over headphones. Sohn was an exceptional student. He graduated first in his high school class, and went on to study at John Casimir University. Again, his father influenced his choice of study. Louis would have chosen history, but his father wanted him to pursue a more practical course of study. Sohn made a “bargain” with his father. He agreed to study the more practical field of law because the law school at that university was connected with a special school of diplomatic and international studies, an area that...

Bretton Woods and Dumbarton Oaks: American economic and political postwar planning in the summer of 1944

America prepares for peace Franklin D. Roosevelt and American security policy allied wartime cooperation State Department post-war preparation, 1941-1944 Treasury Department post-war preparation, 1941-1944 the Bretton Woods conference the Dumbarton Oaks conference Bretton Woods, Dumbarton Oaks and the Cold War.

Internationalism Stillborn

In the summer of 1945, freshman Senator J. William Fulbright (D-AR) rose on the floor of the U.S. Senate to express doubt about America's commitment to internationalism. It was a strange speech coming from the author of the Fulbright-Connally resolution. Moreover, only days before, the Senate had unanimously ratified the charter of the newly established United Nations. But it was precisely that unanimity that worried Fulbright. What had happened to Robert Taft (R-OH) and his isolationist/nationalist followers who had fought tooth-and-nail against the Bretton Woods agreements and the British loan and ultimately succeeded in weighing them down with provisions that preserved America's freedom of action and its preeminent economic position in the non-Communist world? Could it be, Fulbright asked, that the charter recreated the old system of power politics and spheres-of-interest diplomacy, simply dressing it up in internationalist clothing? The answer, he concluded, was yes. In his tightly reasoned, carefully researched study of the Dumbarton Oaks Conference of 1944, Robert Hilderbrand comes to exactly the same conclusion as Fulbright. Hilderbrand argues convincingly that British, American, and Soviet architects of the United Nations fashioned not a truly internationalist organization but rather a version of Roosevelt's Four Policemen concept. The absolute great-power veto, the provision for regional collective security arrangements, and part seven of the UN Charter's Article 2, which reserved to member nations “matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state,” ensured complete freedom of action for the Big Three. Nowhere in the Dumbarton Oaks document or the UN Charter did nations relinquish any part of their national sovereignty or agree to be bound by majority rule or the will of an international agency. There would be no standing multinational military force, and the world court was to be merely a body advisory to the Security Council without compulsory jurisdiction. The key to understanding the impotence of the United Nations, Hilderbrand argues, lies not in the history of the organization since 1945 but in the events of 1944–45. The United Nations was a continuation of the Grand Alliance, and in late 1944 when the Dumbarton Oaks Conference was going on, the wartime coalition was falling apart. The dream of a new world body capable of establishing a lasting peace fell victim to the nationalism of the founders and to the developing rivalry between the Soviet Union and Anglo-America. Indeed, Hilderbrand argues, the United Nations's shortcomings were intentionally built in at Dumbarton Oaks.

: Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavin: October 26th and 27th, 1968 . Elizabeth P. Benson.

American AnthropologistVolume 75, Issue 4 p. 1140-1142 Free Access Archeology: Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavín: October 26th and 27th, 1968. ELIZABETH P. BENSON DAVID L. BROWMAN, DAVID L. BROWMAN Washington UniversitySearch for more papers by this author DAVID L. BROWMAN, DAVID L. BROWMAN Washington UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: August 1973 https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1973.75.4.02a01550AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. References Cited Lumbreras, Luis G. 1967 Para una revaluacion de Chavin. Amaru 2: 49– 60. Lumbreras, Luis G., and Hernan Amat O. 1969 Informe Preliminar sobre las Galerias Interiores de Chavin. Revista del Museo Nacional 34: 143– 197. Volume75, Issue4August 1973Pages 1140-1142 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavin. Edited by Elizabeth P. Benson. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, D.C., 1971. vii + 124 pp., figs., illus. No price given.

Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavin. Edited by Elizabeth P. Benson. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, D.C., 1971. vii + 124 pp., figs., illus. No price given. - Volume 38 Issue 3

Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavín October 26th and 27th, 1968. By Elizabeth P. Benson.

<i>Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavín October 26th and 27th, 1968</i>. By Elizabeth P. Benson.

Peruvian Culture: Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavin . Washington, D.c., Oct. 1968. Elizabeth P. Benson, Ed. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, 1971. x, 124 pp., illus. $6.

Peruvian Culture: <i>Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavin</i> . Washington, D.c., Oct. 1968. Elizabeth P. Benson, Ed. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, 1971. x, 124 pp., illus. $6.

: The Olmec World . Ignacio Bernal.

American AnthropologistVolume 73, Issue 6 p. 1410-1413 Free Access The Olmec World. IGNACIO BERNAL PHILIP DRUCKER, PHILIP DRUCKER University of KentuckySearch for more papers by this author PHILIP DRUCKER, PHILIP DRUCKER University of KentuckySearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1971 https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1971.73.6.02a00930AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL REFERENCES CITED Caso, Alfonso 1964 ¿Existió in imperio Olmeca Memorias de el Colegio Nacional V(3): 1– 52. Coe, M. D. 1962 Mexico. Ancient Peoples and Places Series. London: Praeger. Drucker, P. 1947 Some implications of the ceramic complex of La Venta. SI-MC 107(8). Drucker, P., and R. F. Heizer 1965 Commentary on W. R. Coe and R. Stuckenrath's review. Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers 33: 37– 70. Flannery, K. V. 1968 The Olmec and the Valley of Oaxaca. In E. P. Benson, ed. Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, Washington, D. C., pp. 79– 110. Heizer, R. F. 1960 Agriculture and the theocratic state in lowland southeastern Mexico. American Antiquity 26: 215– 222. Heizer, R. F., and Howel Williams 1965 Sources of rocks used in Olmec monuments. University of California Archaeological Facility Contributions 1: 1– 40. Tolstoy, Paul, and Louise Paradis 1970 Early and Middle Preclassic cultures in the basin of Mexico. Science 167(3917): 344– 351. Volume73, Issue6December 1971Pages 1410-1413 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec. Edited by Elizabeth P. Benson. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, 1968. xi + 185 pp., 51 figs. $7.50.

Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec. Edited by Elizabeth P. Benson. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, 1968. xi + 185 pp., 51 figs. $7.50. - Volume 35 Issue 3

ARCHEOLOGY: Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, October 28th and 29th, 1967. Elizabeth P. Benson, ed

ARCHEOLOGY: <i>Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, October 28th and 29th, 1967.</i> Elizabeth P. Benson, ed

Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, October 28th and 29th, 1967. By Elizabeth P. Benson.

<i>Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, October 28th and 29th, 1967</i>. By Elizabeth P. Benson.

Elizabeth P. Benson (ed.): Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, Oct. 28 and 29, 1967. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University, 1968, 185 pp., 51 figs. $7.50.

Elizabeth P. Benson (ed.): Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec, Oct. 28 and 29, 1967. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University, 1968, 185 pp., 51 figs. $7.50.