ABSTRACT
The historical experiences of many Western Europeans that led to the formation of the values, self-defined defensive national interests and preference for 'hard' economic and military power have not changed. The earliest postwar European security agreements were mutual-aid treaties signed against Germany. The projects signaled a fundamental shift in the European policy of the United States. At Italian insistence, Article 38 of the European Defense Community Treaty provided for the regulation of European Defense Force's by a European Political Community and a European Minister of Defense. Reacting to the suggestion that West Germany join North Atlantic Treaty Organization, France's Prime Minister, on 24 October 1950, launched the Pleven Plan, which quickly became the European Defense Community. Europeans have relied on other organizations to develop and coordinate soft power resources and to build security, including the rehabilitation of the World War II aggressor states Germany and Italy into the family of western European states.
