Norway,Spitsbergen, and America, 1905-1920

In the Spitsbergen treaty of 1920, Norway acquired sovereignty over the Spitsbergen Islands. Rather than Woodrow Wilson, the American president, the architects behind the treaty were Robert Lansing, Wilson’s secretary of state, and, behind the diplomatic scene, the mining investor, John M. Longyear. In 1906, Longyear established a mining company to exploit the coal deposits at Spitsbergen. He induced Congress, the State Department, and the White House to forge an American policy for the European Arctic, including the appointment of Lansing, an international lawyer, as a counsel in the State Department. Lansing was a leading expert on both international law and the lack of state authority at the terra nullius, Spitsbergen. In 1915, he became secretary of State and, at the Paris Peace Conference, decided American policy regarding the Spitsbergen question. This analysis shows how the outcome of the Spitsbergen question was a result of American mining interests, supplemented by Norwegian-American shared interests in conflict resolution based on international law.     

Israel's entry to Africa, 1956-61

From 1956 to 1961, Israel established a presence in Africa that constituted a remarkable diplomatic achievement. When the Gold Coast became Ghana in March 1957, Israel's consulate in Accra became its first embassy in Africa. Israel experienced its first serious setback in Africa in January 1961, when Ghana, Guinea and Mali signed an anti-Israel declaration at the Casablanca conference. This initiative of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser condemned Israel as 'an instrument in the service of imperialism'. Yet while Israel feared it had lost what it had achieved in sub-Saharan Africa since 1957, the toll was primarily psychological, for the Israelis had, by 1961, achieved their main objective in Africa.     

中非友好合作与共同发展

中国与非洲的友好交往历史悠久。新中国的成立开辟了中非关系的新纪元,中国为非洲国家的政治解放、经济发展和社会进步做出了力所能及的贡献,非洲国家也在许多方面给予了中国大力的支持。新世纪,中非之间的友好合作与共同发展面临新的机遇。随着中非合作论坛机制的逐渐建立,中国与非洲在各领域的友好合作呈现蓬勃发展势头。展望未来,中非友好关系将继续深入发展