The very notion that coalition diplomacy possesses economic aspects implies a concept of coalition as a form of international organization reaching well beyond the classical political and military alliance. An alliance normally commits each member to join with its partners if any of them is involved in hostilities. It may be solely defensive or both offensive and defensive. Whatever its scope, it takes as given the military establishment of each member and the economic resources each is prepared to devote to building its military strength. A government may feel that possession of reliable allies permits the meeting of its security interests with less effort and at less cost than being entirely on its own, but this is a matter for independent decision by each member, calling neither for consultation nor for planned joint effort.

It is no secret from even the most cursory reader of the daily press that NATO has of late been undergoing what is commonly referred to as a “crisis”. Four factors seem to me crucial components of the difficult problems with which the fifteen nations are wrestling.

In the short span of a year, from the Messina Conference held on June 1 and 2, 1955, by the foreign ministers of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, to the series of meetings begun in Brussels on June 26, 1956, among the same governments, the idea of economic unification of these six countries has made a striking advance toward its realization. The heads of the delegations to the Intergovernmental Committee established by the Messina Conference produced a report in which they jointly and unanimously proposed to start drafting a treaty (or two treaties) to establish a “common market” and an atomic community (Euratom) along the lines of their report. The governments are not yet formally committed to accept all the recommendations of this report; but they agreed at the Venice Conference on May 29, 1956, to take it as a basis for the negotiation of the treaty. This document is therefore to be regarded as much more than another expert opinion on the desirability or the feasibility of economic integration. It outlines the detailed objectives to be reached and contains a relatively precise timetable hammered out through months of arduous discussions which took the better part of the summer and of the fall of 1955 in the Belgian capital. Euratom and the “common market” are of course closely interrelated political issues. Technically, however, they are quite distinct and only the common market is examined in this paper.

The development of regional organizations and collective defense arrangements of a regional nature has been one of the principal features of international relations since 1945. The literature on the subject has already become voluminous. This bibliography is designed to provide a key to some of the principal writings on the subject found in the more generally available periodicals and other sources in the English and French languages. An effort has been made to index the basic documents establishing the different regional arrangements together with materials giving reliable summaries of what has been done in each area and throwing light on organizational and political issues.

Report of the Committee on South West Africa: The report of the Committee on South West Africa to the eleventh session of the General Assembly stated that the Committee had again extended to the government of the Union of South Africa the invitation it had sent in 1954 and 1955 to participate in the Committee's work, but that the Union government had refused the invitation, stating that it had not changed its former position; it still considered the mandate in respect of South West Africa as lapsed and it had no other international commitments in regard to that territory. In view of this unchanged attitude of the Union government, the Committee had continued to apply the alternate procedure contained in its rules of procedure with respect to the examination of reports adopted on February 11, 1954.

The following summary covers the activities of the Security Council from its 729th meeting on June 26, 1956, through its 733d meeting on September 6, 1956.

The twenty-first session of the Economic and Social Council was held at Headquarters from April 17 to May 4, 1955. Hans Engen (Norway) was elected president of the Council for 1956 and an agenda of 21 items was approved. In the light of a United Kingdom proposal for a conference on the proposed convention on slavery, it was decided to debate agenda item 12, “slavery”, at a plenary session without referring it to the Social Commission. All items on the agenda were considered with the exception of the proposal for calendar reform, on which discussion was adjourned sine die.

The Acting Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Herbert Broadley, stated in his forward to the annual report for 1956 that the world food and agricultural situation had in recent years tended to change less rapidly than it had during the years of postwar recovery. It had therefore been decided to modify the form of the annual report, giving less emphasis to the current situation and short-term outlook and more to longer-term problems and to other special subjects. In reviewing the world situation and outlook, the report stated that during 1955/56 world production had continued to increase, reaching a level some 3 percent higher than in 1954/55. Increases had been greatest in North America and Oceania, the regions already most troubled by surpluses, but apart from a substantial gain in the Far East, production in the other regions had shown little change and in some cases had declined. Demand for agricultural products had been stimulated throughout the world during the period under review by the boom in industrialized countries; broadly speaking, there had been a tendency towards decreased prices for agricultural raw materials and some strengthening in the prices of foodstuffs. An increase of about 5 percent in the volume of world trade and agricultural commodities had occurred during 1955, with more than half of the increase due to larger western European imports. World trade in agricultural products was still, however, only 5 percent above the 1934–1938 level, in contrast to a rise of 70 percent in the volume of world trade as a whole. The total addition to stocks by the end of 1955/56 appeared to have been fairly modest, the report stated.

The eleventh annual report of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which was presented to the Board of Governors on September 25, 1956, covered the activities of the Bank for the period July 1, 1955—June 30, 1956. During the year under review, the Bank had made 26 loans, totalling the equivalent of $396 million, in 20 countries and territories, in six of which the Bank had not lent before. Lending since the Bank had begun its operations totaled the equivalent of $2,720 million ($2,667 million net of cancellations and refundings) in 42 countries. About 70 percent of the total loaned during the year under review had been directed toward the development of electric power and the improvement of transportation. Notable features in the year's lending operations had been the increased activity of the Bank in Asia, where lending totaled $166 million, the size of the projects assisted, and the extent to which the loans had supported programs rather than single projects.

The 27th session of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), was held in Montreal from February 21 to March 16, 1956. The preparation of documentation for the Assembly and the Executive Committee occupied a considerable part of the time of the session. A final report on the investigation into the administrative organization and methods of the Secretariat which stated that it was being operated efficiently and economically was approved, as was a recommendation to keep the three year term of the Council and to hold a major session of the Assembly in 1959, with limited sessions in 1957 and 1958 if necessary. Budget estimates were prepared for the three years. Following debate, resolutions were adopted designed to simplify Council work, particularly by making use of standing committees. No recommendation was made, however, on a United Kingdom proposal for the Amendment of the Convention and on the relationship of ICAO with the European Civil Aviation Conference. A considerable number of technical questions came before the Council in reports from the Air Navigation Commission and the Pacific Regional Air Navigation Meeting, and in the air transport field.

The Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) held its 132d session in Geneva from June 1–2 and on July 29, 1956 under the chairmanship of Mr. A. H. Brown (Canada). After a discussion the Governing Body requested the Director-General to submit law and practice reports to the 133d session on the following subjects: 1) conditions of work of fishermen; 2) organization of occupational health services in places of employment; and 3) collaboration between public authorities and employers' and workers' organizations at industrial and national levels. In addition, the 133d session was asked to consider as a law and practice report a report on hours of work which had already been submitted along with the conclusions of a special committee and additional information which the Office had available. The Director-General was also requested to prepare a report on technical assistance. The conclusions of the nineteenth report of the Committee on Freedom of Association and certain proposals to facilitate committee procedure were adopted. A reservation to these proposals was made by the delegate from the Soviet Union who felt they would result in slowing further the Committee's already cumbersome working methods.

The Annual Report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1956 was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on June 29, 1956. The world payments situation had improved during the year under review, the report stated; restrictions had been further relaxed, the transferability of important currencies had been extended, and discrimination, especially that resulting from bilateral arrangements, had had less influence on the direction of trade. Progress in extending multilateral trade and payments had thus been maintained, although during the year there had been no addition to the list of Fund members which had established formal convertibility of their currencies. While in general postwar investment programs had brought good returns, inflationary pressures were still strong in a number of countries, the report stated, and they had not always been kept under effective control. The report noted with satisfaction a greater readiness to take corrective or preventive measures, and that the value of flexible monetary and fiscal policies as a major means of achieving and maintaining stability was increasingly recognized. In assessing the future development of the generally encouraging world payments situation, the report cited the following relevant factors which because of their tendency to change from year to year made accurate prediction difficult: 1) the important part played in the international balance of payments by the expenditures abroad of the United States government; 2) the fact that countries whose export trade consisted mainly of primary products were especially subject to variations in export earnings; and 3) the problem of disposing of surpluses of agricultural products.

The eleventh annual session of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Administrative Council was held in Geneva from April 25 to May 19, 1956 under the chairmanship of Mohamed Nazir Mirza (Pakistan). The Council decided on a tentative program of ITU conferences which included 1) the Plenipotentiary Conference and the Administrative Radio Conference, to be held together in 1959; and 2) the Administrative Telephone and Telegraph Conference, to be held in Geneva toward the end of 1958, with the final dates to be set by the Plenary Assemblies in September and December of 1956.

Executive Board The 43d session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Executive Board was held in Madrid from April 9 to 19, 1956 under the Chairmanship of Sir Arcot L. Mudaliar. The Board decided to postpone consideration of the report of the Director General covering the activities of UNESCO in 1955 until the July session, at which time the report for the first six months of 1956 could also be discussed. A preliminary report on the activities of the first three months of 1956 was noted with satisfaction.

Ninth World Health Assembly The ninth Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) met in Geneva from May 8 to 25, 1956 and elected Professor J. Parisot (France) president. The Assembly appointed a special committee to study means of enabling inactive members to reassume their rights and fulfill their obligations, with particular emphasis on a method of settling arrears of contributions. The committee report, which was adopted by the Assembly, provided that contributions should be paid in full for the years during which such countries had participated actively in the work of WHO, while for other years a token payment of 5 percent of the amount assessed would be required. Three newly independent countries, Morocco, the Sudan and Tunisia were admitted to WHO as full members and the Gold Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone were admitted as Associates.

Executive Committee The eighth session of the Executive Committee of the World Meteorological Organi zation (WMO) was held in Geneva from April 17 to 30, 1956 under the presidency of Mr. A. Viaut. Extensive discussion based on a report of a working group was held about plans for the International Geophysical Year 1957–1958, and several resolutions were passed asking all countries to participate, establishing a meteorological data center to ensure exchange of information, and setting up a method of financing. The Executive Committee also established a panel of experts to study meteorological as pects of atomic energy and discontinued its inquiry into the effect of atomic experimentation on the weather after agreeing that on the basis of the material submitted by the Secretary-General, there was no large-scale effect on weather from nuclear explosions. Material relating to a world climatic atlas was referred back to a working group which was asked to revise it for consideration at the second session of the Commission for Climatology scheduled for January 1957, and directives were laid down for consideration of the panel of experts on water resource development.

Following the United States withdrawal of its offer to provide assistance to Egypt for the Aswan high dam project, and the consequent nullification of United Kingdom and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development offers of assistance on the project, the government of Egypt on July 26, 1956 announced its decision to nationalize the Suez Canal Company, the authority for the canal under the Constantinople Convention of 1888; Premier Nasser of Egypt was reported to have stated that the revenue from the canal would be used to finance the Aswan high dam. Talks on common policy among the members of the Arab League ensued, with Syria reported to be taking the lead; negotiations between Syria and Egypt for a federal union, to be open to other Arab countries, were reported to encompass unity in military, economic and foreign policies and in financial, cultural and communications matters. The Arab League Political Committee, in a meeting called at the initiative of Syria and concluded on August 12, expressed full support for the Egyptian government's Suez Canal policy. In two resolutions adopted by the Committee also unanimously approved by a meeting of the Arab League Council on August 13, the members of the League 1) proclaimed their solidarity with Egypt in the latter's determination to preserve its sovereignty and national rights, and considered aggression against any Arab state to be an act of hostility directed against all Arab states; and 2) approved the declaration of Egypt that it was prepared to convene a conference in conjunction with states signatory to the 1888 Constantinople Convention governing the use of the canal, as well as other states whose ships made use of the canal, with the object of concluding an agreement to which all those states might adhere to insure freedom of navigation in the canal.

Council The Ministerial Council of the Baghdad Pact held its second session in Teheran from April 16 to 19, 1956. The United States observer delegation was headed by Deputy Under Secretary of State Loy Henderson; the choice of Mr. Henderson, was reported to emphasize the importance attached by the United States to the pact, and to have been a direct response to diplomatic pressure from the United Kingdom. During the session, the question of United States participation in the pact through economic aid to the members was reported as a major focus of interest, and on April 18 the United States was reported to have become a full member of the Pact's Economic Committee, having agreed to contribute in technical advice and personnel and possibly in new equipment. Mr. Henderson was reported to have told the Council that the United States was prepared to discuss supplementing its programs of bilateral aid to member countries with a program of broader economic cooperation coordinated through the pact, thus meeting, according to the press, one of the major requests of the member countries. The delegates were reported to have reached unanimous agreement on a plan for combined efforts to combat subversion in member countries, as put forward by the Liaison Committee and the Counter-Subversion Committee; the crux of the plan was reported to be an agreement to form an international security organization to pool the information and resources of member countries, including combined police resources. The recommendations of the Economic Committee and of the Secretary-General for a permanent secretariat were also reported to have been unanimously approved.

Council The 21st meeting of the Caribbean Commission was held in Aruba, Netherlands Antilles from December 5 to 12, 1955, under the chairmanship of Robinson McIlvane (United States). A work program for 1956 was adopted which included a continuation of projects carried out in 1955 in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, forestry, home economics, housing, industrial development, trade promotion and other allied matters.