Increasing Cold War tensions -> US dominance of United Nations and the isolation of China Flashcards
Where was the headquarters of the UN?
New York
- established US dominance in the organisation
When was the United Nations Charter agreed?
June 1945
When did the UN come into being?
October 1945
How many original members were there?
50
Where were 20 of the members from?
Capitalist Central and South American states
What were the members of the middle east?
Iran, Iraq and Egypt who were also pro-Western
How were European empires until the mid 1950s?
Largely intact although nationalist movements were growing stronger and more effective after the end of WWII
What did nationalist movements signify?
De-colonisation had not started, limiting the number of potential new members and ensured that the USA had the support of these states because their imperial European masters were allies of the USA
What did the absence of newly colonised states remove the possibility of?
Them functioning as non-aligned or pro-Soviet states in the UN, serving to protect US dominance
What did the USA forbid mainland China from doing?
Insisted that mainland China, a communist state from 1949, could not take China’s seat in the UN (occupied by nationalist regime in Taiwan)
- disqualified from UN membership
What was the executive decision-making arm of the UN?
The Security Council consisting of five permanent members
Who were the permanent members of the security council?
The USA, Britain, France, China and the USSR
How did this structure enhance US power further?
The power of veto did enable any one member to block UN intervention
What did the US see the UN as an opportunity for?
As a vehicle for intervention on a global scale and in order to enhance its own foreign policy aims
What was the primary route of the US’ role?
To act as a ‘global policeman’ favoured by Eisenhower
What became central to US thinking?
That communism was a global threat and therefore needed a global response
What did Truman and his senior advisers favour in their approach to China?
They favoured an avoidance of any military conflict with China as a consequence of supporting Jiang Jieshi
What did Britain recognise in 1950?
Britain recognised Mao’s regime in 1950, albeit through the muted dispatch of a charge d’affaires rather than the ambassador
How had McCarthyism impacted British policy on the far east?
It had little impact on British policy in the far east but it did begin to influence Truman
What provoked the US in greater involvement with China?`
When China and the USSR formed an alliance in early 1950
What was the most alarming element of the alliance for the USA?
The commitment to mutual security guarantees to combat any aggression from Japan, ‘or any other state that may collaborate in any way with Japan in acts of aggression’
What did the alliance reinforce for the US?
It reinforced the USA’s need to develop its own power base in the eastern world
What did the alliance make Stalin believe about the influence of China?
Made him believe the alliance would work to the USSR’s advantage rather than open up wider international opportunities to consolidate the USSR’s security in the Far East
How did this impact the US?
Forced the US to review its policies towards Asia and reduced their European priorities, shifting the Cold War focus out of Europe to some extent
What did the Korean War reinforce?
China’s isolation as Stalin’s refusal to commit Soviet troops but his willingness to see Chinese troops involved served to weaken China’s international status
What signified the USA’s role in the Far East?
The USA’s role in the Far East was clearly confirmed with the signing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty between Japan and the USA in September 1951
What did Truman order two days after the outbreak of the Korean War?
The US 7th Fleet to position itself between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan on 27 June
What did the Korean War end with?
The pre-war status quo being restored as far as North and South Korea were concerned
What had shifted due to the K-war?
Tje degree of commitment that the USA would now offer to prevent the spread of communism across Asia
What was fundamental to this shift?
The isolation of China diplomatically through
What were diplomatic means of isolating China?
- the refusal to accept China’s entry into the UN
- the enhanced US commitment to protect Taiwan
- the creation of a strategic defence perimeter
- the development of a regional alliance system in the shape of SEATO
