PERANAN BRITAIN DALAM MENUBUHKAN PERTUBUHAN PERJANJIAN ATLANTIK UTARA (NATO) PADA 1949

Abstract

On 4 April 1949, NATO was founded with the ultimate objective to combat the Soviet Union‟s aggression. Although formed in response to the exigencies of the developing Cold War, NATO has lasted beyond the end of that conflict. The wide-ranging general literature on the origins of NATO in the Cold War era falls mainly into perspectives of the United States and Britain. When placing scrutiny on which country has had a pivotal role towards the formation of NATO, most scholars have the tendency to look at this issue from the angle of the United States, mainly because it was the country which was in dispute with the Soviet Union in the Cold War, also it was the one who held the negotiations that produced NATO. However, Britain also plays a paramount role in the efforts towards forming NATO given the fact that the United States was half-hearted to form any new security alliance in the first place and it kept delaying the negotiations that discussed NATO. It was British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin who managed to overcome the United States hesitation in forming NATO. What is more, the idea to form NATO was originally suggested by Bevin. British documentary analysis illuminates the degree of influence of Bevin in assuring NATO to be successfully formed. The leading roles played by Bevin and his involvement as the „key player‟ in influencing the United States to also sign the Treaty will be the focus of this article.