Book Reviews and Notices : The Atlantic Pact. BY HALFORD L. HOSKINS. (Washington, D. C.: Public Affairs Press. 1949. Pp. 104. $2.50.)

• Published date: 01 December 1949
• Date: 01 December 1949
• DOI: 10.1177/106591294900200413
• Subject Matter: Articles

631

Throughout

the

book

there

seems

to

be

an

underlying

theme:

that

there

is

need

for

more

scientific

investigation

and

less

arm

chair

specu-

lation

about

international

relations;

that

greater

efforts

should

be

made

to

find

solutions

to

problems

and

less

attention

given

to

sidestepping

them;

that

one

should

give

heed

to

one’s

duties,

particularly

in

&dquo;insisting

upon

the

inviolability

of

international

obligations.&dquo;

We

can

agree

with

the

editor

that

&dquo;scientific

work

requires

more

than

the

combination

of

intui-

tion

with

a

scientific

mind.

Its

third

constituent

element

is

moral

courage

to

think

out

the

implications

of

one’s

thoughts

-

irrespective

of

the

con-

seauences.&dquo;

W.

HAROLD

DALGLIESH.

University

of

Utah.

The

Atlantic

Pact.

BY

HALFORD

L.

HOSKINS.

(Washington,

D.

C.:

Pub-

lic

Affairs

Press.

1949.

Pp.

104.

$2.50.)

This

booklet

evolved

from

several

memoranda

which

the

author,

a

well-known

student

of

history

and

political

science,

prepared

for

the

use

of

members

of

Congress

in

his

capacity

as

Senior

Specialist

in

Inter-

national

Relations

of

the

Legislative

Reference

Service

of

the

Library

of

Congress.

The

sixty-odd

pages

of

the

text

and

the

convenient

appendices

will

be

very

helpful

in

acquainting

college

students

with

the

subject

matter.

Some

circumspection,

however,

is

called

for

on

the

part

of

the

reader.

For

example,

despite

the

title

of

the

booklet

and

the

consistent

use

of

the

term

Atlantic

Pact

throughout

the

text,

the

Pact

is

not

an

Atlantic,

but

a

North

Atlantic,

Pact

and

the

author’s

statement

(p.

26)

that

three

of

the

six

points

of

the

Vandenberg

resolution

&dquo;were

concerned

with

long

range

’human

rights

and

fundamental

freedoms’ &dquo;

is

better

forgotten.

Also

some

minor

inaccuracies

need

correction,

such

as

the

statement

that

the

Canadian

House

of

Commons

ratified

the

Pact

by

an

unanimous

vote

(p.

76),

whereas

the

vote

was

149

to

2,

two

members

of

the

Bloc

Populaire

dissenting.

In

general

the

author’s

discussion

of

the

problems

connected with

the

North

Atlantic

Pact

is

well

balanced.

However,

his

arguments

to

prove

that

there

were

no

legal

obstacles

which

would

prevent

states

that

were

not

members

of

the

United

Nations

from

joining

the

Pact

cannot

pass

without

some

criticism.

Hoskins

argues

that

Articles

51

and

52

of

the

United

Nations

Charter

&dquo;do

not

specifically

prohibit

member

States

from

entering

into

regional

relationships

with

non-member

States&dquo;

(p.

42).

But

both

articles

refer

explicitly

to

members

of

the

United

Nations,

and

thereby

limit

the

range

of

States

to

which

they

apply.

And

when

the

au-

thor,

to

prove

his

point,

builds

up

a

chain

of

arguments

(pp.

42-43)

run-