PP. 479, 1951, College Edition $1.50
Brookings Institution, Washington D. C.
To the Chinese student of international relations, the volume is invaluable in showing what a section of articulate professional opinion in the United States is telling the public. It provides food for thought for those of us here in Taiwan who has at heart the destiny of the Chinese nation through this troublous and difficult era.
The Brookings Institution inaugurated a program of research and education in the field of international relations in 1946, aiming at the development of an informed and responsible American public opinion on foreign policy. For the successful realization of the program, the Institution's resources had to be supplemented by special grants of funds from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegic Corporation of New York. The Major Problems of United States Foreign Policy is an annual analytical survey, of which the 1951-1952 issue is the fifth volume. It professes to be "an attempt ... to present an over-all view of the world situation and of the position of the United States in world affairs, and to examine the main problems of foreign policy that lie ahead."
The volume is divided into three parts; - Part One dealing with the present position of the United States in world affairs, Part Two with a survey of present problems and Part Three with a problem paper on collective security action. Inasmuch as the material used was prepared as of July 1, 1951, and in view of the rapidity with which world events take on new shape and significance, Part Two has to be supplemented by a knowledge of the most recent developments before it can give all adequate picture of the current situation today. Part Three is apparently an attempt on the part of the Institution to carry out its avowed aim of contributing "toward a more realistic training of the increasing number of American specialists in international relations that are required today in the government, in business, and in other agencies operating abroad."
The present position of the United States in world affairs is discussed in five chapters, the first of which deals with Key Development from July 1950 to July 1951. To people in the orient, the most enlightening section in the chapter is the one on "The Great Debate", described as "a full-dress criticism and defense of the foreign policy of the Administration." The debate went through three clearly defined stages. The first, which lasted from the middle of December 1950 to the middle of January 1951, was concerned with the general basis of national security and whether the United States should narrow down or enlarge its international commitments. The second stage went one step further to deal with the specific question of whether the Far East or Western Europe should be considered a more vital area in the maintenance of national security. The third stage, which began when General MacArthur was dismissed, took on two seemingly unrelated topics: the global strategy of the United States and the political controversy set off by his dismissal.
Chapter II on The Postwar Pattern of International Relations begins with a brief account of those events during World War II that had a bearing upon the postwar problem of unity among the Allied Powers. The Atlantic Charter of 1941, the Declaration by the United Nations in 1942, the Moscow Declaration in 1942, the Moscow Declaration in 1943, and the Teheran, Dumbarton Oaks, and Yalta Conferences are all concisely descried. Surprisingly, no mention has been made of the Cairo Conference, while the San Francisco Conference is dealt with at length. Commenting on the course of events from 1945 to 1951, the chapter says that accumulated evidence shows that the Soviet Union cannot be relied on to keep its pledges to its allies, that nationalistic and revolutionary movements have altered the colonial status of many parts of Asia, and that there was a general resurgence of Arab nationalism. The United Nations is said to have failed to satisfy the security requirements of its members and is therefore indirectly responsible for the growth of various types of regional security arrangements.
Chapter III deals with Interests and Objectives of the United States. It is here that students of international relations in the Far East find the book most enlightening. The evolution of American foreign policy to its present form has taken place in three stages. In the first stage, 1865-1890, the controlling factor was the steady pressure for the internal consolidation of the nation. The second stage, 1890-1942, is that in which the United States emerged as a world power. The third and still unfinished stage is that in which the United States has become a major world power wielding a decisive influence on the whole structure of contemporary international relations. In 1946, the term "Western bloc" and "Soviet bloc" began to be used. The fact that the United States had demobilized, while Soviet Russia remained on a war footing compelled the former to accept many Soviet actions as accomplished facts. Having failed to maintain world peace, the United States concentrated on marshalling the strength needed to restore some semblance of balance of power in international relations.
Chapter IV takes into consideration Other Factors Conditioning United States Policy and Action. These factors, domestic or external, are inextricably interlocked, and have to be constantly adjusted. The domestic factors mainly stem from the following circumstances: the existence of diverse racial and cultural groups, the susceptibility of Congress to public opinion, the difficulty of impressing upon the public that foreign policy is continually subject to the process of change, the intensification of domestic political activity in an election year, and the constitutional structure and the operation of the governmental mechanism of the country. In discussing external factors, emphasis is laid on the important part that China was made to play and may play again in the shaping of American foreign policy.
Chapter V is entitled The Broad Issues Ahead. It is said that the basic objectives of United States foreign policy remain as they have been for some years: (1) to develop a world system of independent states, each politically and economically stable and militarily secure, and all of which willing to harmonize their interests by continuous international coordination and cooperation; and (2) to prevent the Soviet Union and its associates from defeating this purpose by subversion or open aggression.
Part Two, A Survey of Present Problems, takes up some problems of foreign policy confronting the United States on July 1, 1951. Chapter VI, The Political Field, discusses some of the heavy responsibilities for world leadership newly acquired by the United States which have intensified its need to win and maintain the friendship and confidence of the other free nations. Chapter VII, The Economic Field, asserts that the development that has had the greatest effect on the foreign economic relations of the United States during the past year is the growing pace of rearmament. The desirability of controlling inflation is undeniable. That free nations should be urged to allocate resources and man power to production for defense is also obvious. On the matter of cooperation, the chapter confines itself almost exclusively to Western European countries, except for a casual reference to the Havana Resolution of 1940 and the Mexico City Conference of 1945. Chapter VIII, The Military Security Field, takes up the question of leadership in dealing with North Atlantic Treaty nations and "coercive legislation for dealing with non-treaty nations." Chapter IX, The United Nations Field, describes the close relationship between the problems of the Untied States as a member of the United Nations and many of the problems arising from other fields of American foreign relations. The most important and pressing problem is that of collective security. The "Uniting for Peace" resolution is analyzed in detail. Chapter X, The Soviet Union and its Periphery, is devoted to the problem of how to weaken Soviet influence in the satellite states and in unstable and underdeveloped areas.
Chapter XI, Great Britain and the Commonwealth: It is claimed that "it is clearly in the interest of the United States that the Commonwealth should be strong, that it should evolve institutionally toward greater political coherence and toward a greater capacity to organize its immense but dispersed power for common purposes". While the fundamental Anglo-American differences in objectives in the Far East are minimized, the existence of different interpretations of events in Asia and of opposing views concerning the means and methods to be used in dealing with the situation in Asia is admitted. Chapter XII, The European Area: By virtue of its resources, its productive capacity, the abundance of skilled labor, and its potential power, Europe has exerted a tremendous influence on international relations. Since the primary concern of the United States in Europe is security, the country finds itself increasingly involved in the problem of keeping special European issues effectively related to its own basic objective. The role to be played by Western Germany and that by Spain are much debated questions. The United States attempt to influence Yugoslav action can take one of the following four forms: (1) include Yugoslavia in a mutual defense arrangement; (2) guarantee the integrity of Yugoslavia; (3) include Yugoslavia in a regional defense agreement; and (4) extend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to include Yugoslavia.
Chapter XIII, The Mediterranean - Middle East: In the 1920's, the discovery of rich oil deposits in Iraq focused important American commercial interests on the Middle East; but today in spite of the deep concern which the United States has shown over the oil dispute in Iran, "the primary basis of the present United States interest in the Mediterranean and Middle East is strategic, and the overriding objective of American policy is to halt Soviet expansion". Chapter XIV, The African Area: Africa south of the Sahara, (North Africa is included in the Mediterranean Area) located on the road to India, Asia and the Far East is of great strategic importance, especially if the Mediterranean should become a closed sea.
Chapter XV, The Asian Area: It is said that in China, a small but determined and disciplined minority has sought to develop a spirit of militant nationalism... The energetic pursuit of this course, with practical assistance from the Soviet Union, has converted China from a militarily impotent nation into a significant Asian power and an effective Soviet ally.
On the issue of recognition, the book says that a "decision in this matter will ultimately be reached, by choice, by default, or in consequence of a chain of events set in motion by decisions with respect to the Korean war or to Formosa." The possible choices that confront the United States are four; (1) The United States can continue to recognize the Nationalist regime as the Government of China. (2) The United States could withdraw recognition from the Nationalist Government and extend it to the Communist regime. (3) The United States can continue to recognize the Nationalists as having sovereignty over Formosa, and at the same time extend recognition to the Communist regime as having sovereignty over the mainland. And (4) The United States can withdraw recognition from the Nationalist Government but refuse to extend it to the People's Republic.
Turning to Southeast Asia, it is said that the problem is to decide whether military aid should have priority over economic assistance and whether aid should take the form of stop-gap measures, a combination of stop-gap measures and long-term measures, or such stop-gap measures as are consistent with long-term objectives.
Concerning Japan, a treaty is considered "a prerequisite to Japan's playing an active part in maintaining itself against a Communist threat." Two main issues are involved in this connection. "The first is the question of the part it is desired Japan should play in maintaining security in the Far East. The second is the question of the steps that should be taken to make it possible for Japan to play the agreed role."
As to India, it is said that "so far as is known, no project for integrating India into a collective security system has yet taken concrete form."
Chapter XVI, The Western Hemisphere: All Western Hemisphere areas, exposed to attack from Europe or Asia, are of strategic interest to the United States. Pan-American security has assumed increasing importance during the past fifteen years.
Part Three of the book is intended to give the reader a better understanding of the entire policy-making process by reviewing the possible alternative policies.
While the 1951-1952 issue of the Major Problems of United States Foreign Policy is admirably written and logically arranged, its division into chapters does not meet the need of the average reader in Taiwan. The public here is more interested in the American attitude towards Soviet Russia, in the relationship between the United States and Great Britain and the extent to which public and official opinion in Great Britain may influence American policies and in problems particular to the Far East. While all these questions are dealt with at length in the book the authors are satisfied to leave the readers to draw their own conclusions.
On the issue of United States attitude towards Soviet Russia, one gathers that both the American people and Government have definitely committed themselves against the expansionist pressure of the Soviet Union. Faced with the fact that, unlike the United States, the USSR has remained on a war footing since the end of the Second World War, the United States has adopted a new system of selective draft and measures for strengthening her military forces. America has taken steps calculated to stop the USSR from making a bid for world hegemony. However, this does not mean that the United States will be anti-communist. The Communist Party has not been outlawed in the United States and aid to Communist Yugoslavia is openly given.
The relationship between the United States and Great Britain is, in the opinion of the authors, practically indissoluble. The British Commonwealth occupies strategic positions throughout the world, embracing some of the most stable, wealthy and dependable democratic nations. It commands vast resources of man power and raw materials and possesses great military, industrial and political skill. It can bring strong influence to bear on practically any region of the world.
The authors appear to be obsessed by the notion that the National Government of China is "disorganized" and "apathetic" and that the Chinese Communists are "determined" and "disciplined". The inclusion of four "possible choices" on the issue of recognition modifies to a great extent the generally accepted opinion that Taiwan should under no circumstance fall into Communist hands. – Wai Yuan,