Beginnings of the Transatlantic security partnership: Outbreak of the Cold War and the establishment of the Atlantic Alliance

Abstract

The aim of this article was to show the origin of the Transatlantic security
partnership and the process that led to the creation of NATO in 1949.
The article draws attention to the aggravation of East–West relations, which
resulted in the outbreak of the Cold War and the transformation of the US
policy after the Second World War. The worsening of the international situation
also led to the initiation of Western European countries’ cooperation
and integration in the area of security and defence. The outbreak of the Cold
War was the result of a significant transformation of international relations
consisting mainly in the emergence of two superpowers, i.e. the United States
and the Soviet Union. Due to Moscow’s expansionist policy, after 1945 the

United States abandoned its traditional isolationist policy in favour of active
involvement in Europe’s problems. The initiatives adopted in 1947 following
the new American approach, i.e. the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and
the containment doctrine are analysed. Western European countries’ actions
in the field of security are also taken into account, because the commitment
of the United States to defend Europe was dependent on the development
of cooperation in this area by the Europeans themselves. This cooperation
was reflected in the Treaty of Dunkirk signed by the United Kingdom and
France in 1947 and in the Treaty of Brussels signed a year later by the United
Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which led to
the creation of the Western Union. The main problems that emerged during
the North Atlantic Treaty negotiations and their resolution within the framework
of the Transatlantic bargain, which is the basis of NATO's functioning,
are also analysed.