History of Americas
Paper 2
Causes, Practices and Effects of Wars : Topic 1
Question 5: How effective have attempts been to achieve collective security since the Second World War ( 1939-1945)? Support your view with specific examples.
The attempts to achieve collective security since the Second World War was successful at times:
United Nations (UN):
- Was created in order to ensure that governments of major countries around the world would continue to actively fight against the Axis Powers in World War II.
- Designed to intervene only in serious matters around the world, serving as a global council.
- Created the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea to oversee withdrawal of occupation forces and to supervise elections that would reunify Korea.
- Supervised elections in the South and Synge Rhee was elected president.
- Security Council to pass a resolution authorizing the use of force to restore Aristide to Haiti's presidency.
- Military alliance organized by the West in response to perceived threat from the Soviet Union.
- United States joined assumed leadership in January 1949.
- First Berlin Ultimatum where Khrushchev warned the Soviet Union would sign a separate peace with GDR that would include handing over control of the access routes into West Berlin.
- These moves were intended partly to force the west to reopen negotiations on the future of Germany, and in particular to prevent NATO's attempts to make West Germany a nuclear power.
- In 1958, NATO did in fact consider taking such a step, the prospect obviously alarmed the Soviet and the East German leaders.
- The defensive military alliance formed six years after the information of NATO.
- Established shortly after West Germany was allowed to join NATO and rearm in May 1955.
- Alarmed USSR prompting an alliance with its satellite states in Eastern Europe.
- 1980's: Beset by problems related to the economic slowdown in all Eastern European countries.
- Late 1980's political changes in most of the member states made the Pact ritually ineffectual.
- 1980's East Germany left the Pact in order for unification with West Germany.