Trick or truth? The British ANF proposal, west Germany and US nonproliferation policy, 1964-68

The deployment and control of nuclear weapons in Europe was a major aspect of Cold War diplomacy. The Multilateral Force (MLF) is a prime example. First proposed in 1960, the MLF attempted to reconcile European demands for collective alliance control within the broader framework of US nonproliferation policy. The MLF was opposed by both Britain and France, who feared the proposal would lead to a nuclear armed West Germany. To counter the MLF, the Wilson government advanced an alternate scheme - the Atlantic Nuclear Force (ANF). This article examines British objectives in advancing the ANF. It contends that the ANF was not a cynical attempt to frustrate the MLF, as suggested by previous commentators, but embodied a serious attempt by the Labour government to implement a nonproliferation regime.     

Killing the MLFfithe Wilson government and nuclear sharing in Europe, 1964-66

This article investigates the claim of Britain's Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, to have 'killed' the Multilateral Force, an attempt to bring about nuclear sharing within NATO and answer the supposed German desire for equality of status. Earlier accounts have often seen the Multilateral Force as being abandoned, largely thanks to shifts in American policy, in late 1964. The case argued here is that the proposal continued to tax the alliance well into 1966, that important elements in the American and German governments continued to support it and that the British do deserve some credit for bringing the whole idea to an end. In particular the launch of an alternative proposal (the 'Atlantic Nuclear Force'), Wilson's readiness to argue with Washington and Bonn, and the exploitation of French withdrawal from NATO in 1966 proved important, even if British opposition was only one of several factors working against nuclear sharing. In the process he was also able to neutralise the dangers posed to him in the domestic political sphere by the debate over nuclear weapons.     

The Politics of Restitution: The 1964-66 Labour Government's Policy Towards Ireland

This article analyzes Harold Wilson's policy towards the Republic of Ireland during the first eighteen months of his government. This article will demonstrate that the Labour government embarked upon a concerted effort to improve Anglo-Irish relations. In particular, the Labour government acceded to the Irish government's time-honoured request to repatriate the remains of Roger Casement, and returned the flag that had flown over the General Post Office during the 1916 Rising. How successful these gestures were is a moot point. In the short-term it almost certainly did create a climate of goodwill between the British and Irish governments. In the longer-term, however, it could be argued these gestures served to stimulate republican sentiment in Ireland, and perhaps contributed to heightening the tensions within Northern Ireland in the late 1960s.     

A Silver-Lining: President Johnson and the U.N. Peacekeeping Budget Crisis of 1964-19651

Despite the revival of UN peacekeeping after the Cold War, many questions regarding peacekeeping operations remain unanswered. Some of the most complex questions involve the extent to which peacekeeping should be applied, who should pay, and with what privileges, if any. These questions are not new, but also surfaced during the 1960 UN budget crisis ever peacekeeping between the United States and the Soviet Union. President Johnson decided to uphold Kennedy's promise to apply Article 19 and deprive a state of its General Assembly vote if it did not pay its assessed peacekeeping dues. In the end, however, Johnson retreated on Article 19 in the face of Soviet refusal to pay anything toward peacekeeping. The crisis subsided along with a missed opportunity to deal more conclusively with some of the questions surrounding peacekeeping.     

Saving the league: V.K. Wellington Koo, the league of nations and Sino-Japanese conflict, 1931-39

In 1919, VK. Wellington Koo, the most famous Chinese diplomat of the early twentieth century, participated in the creation of the League of Nations at the Paris Peace Conference. Little over a decade later, as Japanese forces expanded into Manchuria and North China, Koo struggled to save the League he had helped found. He argued that inability or refusal to brand Japan as an aggressor would sound the League's death knell. In vain, Koo tried to convince European statesmen that the Far Eastern Crisis was a litmus test of the League's viability as a collective security organization. From 1936 on, League inaction in the face of Japanese, German and Italian expansion left Koo thoroughly disillusioned. The lessons of the League were not forgotten during World War II, when Koo argued that a more effective collective security organization, in the form of the United Nations, be created on a basis similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Policemen concept.     

Before salt: Ten years of US arms control policy, 1958-68

Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS), 1958-60, Vol. Ill, National Security Policy; Arms Control and Disarmament (US Government Printing Office, Washington, 1996); FRUS, 1961-3 VII, Arms Control and Disarmament (1995); FRUS, 1961-3, VIII, National Security Policy (1996); FRUS, 1964-8, XI, Arms Control and Disarmament (1997).     

世界与中国、中国与世界:过去30年,未来30年

2008北京奥运的完美落幕进一步突出了中国改革开放以来的发展成就,标志着中国的国力、国势、国运进入新的上升轨道,中国与世界的关系再度成为国际热点话题。中国的发展、崛起将引起国际格局、国际体系发生什么样的变化?在变化中的世界,尤其是在中国发展本身就构成国际变局重要组成部分、国际上"中国威胁论"及"中国责任论"等此起彼伏的情况下,中国又面临着什么样的新任务、需要确立怎样的国家大战略、做出何种新的战略选择?要不要居安思危,继续坚持韬光养晦?对这些问题,不仅精英层在严肃思考,普通民众也极为关切。鉴此,《现代国际关系》杂志社2008年8月31日以"‘奥运后时代’中国与世界的关系"为题举办研讨会,邀请京津两地20多位相关领域专家、学者就上述问题展开深入讨论。现将会议主要观点辑录如下,以飨读者。     

近五年来中俄贸易商品结构问题刍议

中国与俄罗斯是世界上具有举足轻重作用的大国,两国间的经贸交往源远流长,但两国贸易商品结构长期处于低水平发展阶段。《中俄睦邻友好合作条约》的签订以及中国加入世贸组织标志着两国关系进入新时期,中俄经贸合作驶入快车道。中俄两国必须抓住有利时机,促进中俄贸易商品结构的战略升级。     

英国大选后的政局走向

5月5日,布莱尔领导的工党赢得了英议会大选,实现了工党百年历史上首次“三连胜”,布莱尔本人也成为英战后连续三届当选首相的第二人。但是,布莱尔也很可能是步撒切尔夫人后尘被迫在第三任期内提前让位的首相,其执政地位在大选后即开始动摇,英政局走向存在诸多不确定因素。首先,布莱尔执政地位面临严重挑战。由于伊拉克战争的阴影,工党虽赢得“三连胜”,布莱尔却面临党内“逼宫”,其执政地位处在动摇之中。大选揭晓的5月6日,布莱尔在组织新内阁时,即被迫放弃要减少副首相和内务大臣查尔斯·克拉克部分职责及将露丝·凯利调往财政部的成令。接…