The Brussels Treaty

How do you start aThe Brussels Treaty research paper? Our expert writers suggest like this:

Your research paper must attempt to analyze the Brussels Treaty of 1948 (BT) in terms of its being an artifact of Cold War diplomacy. Paper Masters suggests you follow the following format for explaining the impact of the Brussels Treaty in a research paper:

1. Begin with a discussion of the general conditions prevailing in Europe at the time that this Treaty was promulgated
2. The majority of your research paper will want to be an analysis of the language of the Treaty itself
3. End the research by discussing the effect that the Treaty had on the diplomacy immediately subsequent to it.

How to Begin a Research Paper on the Brussels Treaty

Begin your discussion on the Brussels Treaty with the remark that the BT is somewhat oblique in terms of its statement of purpose. Its preamble states that the signatory powers will "afford assistance to each otherin maintaining international peace and security," but the power that was the focus of Western European fears at that time, the Soviet Union, is not named. Rather, it is Germany that is mentioned-partitioned, impoverished, defeated Germany. This fact may be seen as indicating both a reticence to do anything that might be deemed remotely confrontational with respect to the Soviet Union, a nation that had been behaving aggressively in recent years and which had engineered a coup d'etat in Czechoslovakia in February of 1948. It can also be taken as an example of the extent to which Europe had been traumatized by German aggression in World War I and World War II. The possibility of a resurgent Germany, however remote, was not being completely discounted by European diplomats in 1948.

The Brussels Treaty and the United States

We should note that the United States was not a signatory to this treaty. The signatories were Britain, France, and the Benelux countries and the military weight of these countries, taken in the aggregate, could have done very little against the Red Army. We should also remember that, while the Marshall Plan had begun, the Berlin Blockade had not. The latter event was to begin in June of 1948. Cohen has noted that the American airlift to the beleaguered city was a demonstration that Harry Truman "could wield America's might" and "force a feared adversary to bend to his will." America's resolve was demonstrated by the magnificent technical feat that was the airlift. This was underscored by the basing of sixty long-range strategic bombers (supposedly nuclear capable) in England. Until these things had happened the Europeans had no way of knowing how strong America's will would be vis a vis resisting Soviet aggression on the continent of Europe. The BT therefore can be taken as a reflection of a certain degree of anxiety with respect to the strength of the American commitment to the democracies of Western Europe.