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The Brussels and North Atlantic Treaties, 1947-1949

Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series I, Volume X

Patrick Salmon editor Tony Insall editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:14th Aug '14

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Brussels and North Atlantic Treaties, 1947-1949 cover

This volume documents the drafting, negotiation and signature of the treaty that has been the cornerstone of European defence for the past sixty-five years: the North Atlantic Treaty signed in April 1949.

The story begins at the end of 1947, when the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, became convinced of the need to persuade the United States of America, which had emerged from the Second World War as the pre-eminent global military and economic power and one of the only two superpowers, to underwrite the future security of Western Europe. It progresses through the negotiation of the Brussels Treaty of March 1948—an essential prerequisite to securing American participation in a wider defensive system—and ends with the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty after a series of setbacks, difficulties and security threats. The documents, drawn from the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office and No. 10 (with some transferred into the public domain for the first time), demonstrate how diplomatic skills and determination, inspired by Bevin’s vision, led to a system of collective security that played an indispensable part in the preservation of peace between East and West for the rest of the twentieth century.

This book will be of much interest to students of the Cold War, European and American history, British political history, international history and IR in general.

ISBN: 9780415858229

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 907g

536 pages