The International Order in the Second Half of the XX Century Research Paper

In the aftermath of World War II, the world witnessed a unique state of international relations which had no precedents in the history of diplomacy. Previously, powerful countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, were weakened by the war, and their influence on the international policy began waning. Alongside with other factors, it created the conditions for the settlement of the new global order, that was primarily characterised by the polarization of international relations. Despite “the war had ended without any attempt by the powers to redefine international order”, it was somehow naturally set by the postwar conditions¹. The United States and USSR were two dominant powers of the postwar world, which started competing with each other to gain the influence across the globe and to prevent the contender from acquiring such authority. To provide a clearer understanding of the situation, some important definitions are listed.

The Necessary Terminology

International order – it is foreign diplomacy term, that defines the allocation of power and authority among the countries and international organisations around the world. Concerning the second half of the XX century, this term is used to define the political polarisation and rivalry for domination between the US and USSR.

Containment policy – George Kennan’s “X” article, published in 1947, provided a template for the US government’s plan, which was aimed to limit the distribution of USSR’s influence across the world (primarily in the eastern and western Europe) and to strengthen the position of the United States.

Arms race – the unprecedented competition between the US and USSR in producing the newer and more powerful weapons (most notably the nuclear weapons of mass destruction) as a means of balancing the power of the competing country.

The balance of power – the concept of using the power of the country (or several allied countries) to balance the power of other nation and its allies. This term could refer to a relatively equal ratio of power as well as to the differentiation of power capabilities.

Iron curtain – a famous definition by Winston Churchill which refers to the countries in western Europe under the occupation of USSR and their isolation from the rest of the world.

Decolonization – a process of the former colonies declaring independence, which began after the World War II due to the waning of colonial empires such as UK and France.

Conclusion

The second half of the XX century is characterised by the crucial changes in the international relations and global policy. First of all, the polarisation of power on the political scene is one of the most critical aspects. The competition between USSR and the US during the Cold War and their attempts to balance each other’s power by the creation of nuclear weapons made them into world’s prevailing superpowers. The Third World countries were only able to choose the side they could adjoin, and some of their politicians were discontent with the status quo. Thus the Non-Alignment Movement was established, setting the goals of “democratization of the international system, reform of the world economic order, and the safeguarding of national sovereignty”². Twenty-nine African and Asian states aimed to develop the relations with both superpowers, without acceding to either side or contained ideology. Also, the creation of the United Nations was an important step in the direction of stabilisation of the international relations, since the UN was “determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”³ However, only in the course of time, the rivalry between the United States and USSR has settled down, primarily because of the USSR’s dissolution.

Bibliography

Charter of the United Nations (Preamble), 1945, 1 UNTS XVI. Web.

Fischer, Thomas, Juhana Aunesluoma, and Aryo Makko. “Neutrality and Nonalignment in World Politics during the Cold War,” Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 18, no. 4 (2016): 4-11.

Kissinger, Henry. World Order. Penguin Books, 2015.

Footnotes

1. Henry Kissinger. World order. (Penguin Books, 2015), 186.
2. Thomas Fischer, Juhana Aunesluoma, and Aryo Makko. “Neutrality and Nonalignment in World Politics during the Cold War,” Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 18, no. 4 (2016): 9.
3. Charter of the United Nations (Preamble), 1945, 1 UNTS XVI. Web.