ABSTRACT
Victory for the Allied Powers in 1945 had been achieved at a considerable cost; the major European states would need to embark on large programmes of social reconstruction. Although it was not immediately apparent, the post-1945 world would be dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union. European influence would be limited and the defeat of Japan was so comprehensive that potential aggression from that state was no longer a cause of concern. The United Nations had been born of a mixture of both American idealism and realism; the decision to locate the headquarters in New York reflected the new post-war realities. Within months of the signing of the Charter, events only served to emphasise the need for improved methods of co-operation; the employment of nuclear weapons in August 19451 and the reaction to the Truman Declaration of September 19452 indicated the need to foster improved methods of international understanding and co-operation. The end of the conflict had left the United States as the dominant industrial power, possessing nuclear weapons and being one of the few states with a constitutional structure intact and whose governing class had not been discredited. The only other major power capable of giving a lead in the reconstruction of international order was the United Kingdom, but it had been exhausted by the effort of victory and viewed its long term interests as being best served by cooperation with its major ally rather than by launching any distinctly European initiatives. International order was to be restored by the efforts of the United States.
