Book Reviews : Survey of International Affairs, 1952. By PETER CALVOCORESSI. (London: Oxford University Press for the Royal Institute of International Affairs. 1955. Pp. xii, 474, maps. $7.20.) Documents on International Affairs, 1952. Edited by DENISE FOLLIOT. (London: Oxford University Press for the Royal Institute of International Affairs. 1955. Pp. xvii, 530. $8.80.)

• Published date: 01 March 1956
• Author: Dell G. Hitchner
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295600900119
• Date: 01 March 1956
• Subject Matter: Articles

182

As

in

any

broad

survey

of

a

complex

issue,

there

are

a

variety

of

reserva-

tions

and

qualifications

that

one

might

make.

For

example,

while

in

general

Maine’s

categories

(status

vs.

contract)

are

analytically

useful

and

in

a

measure

valid,

not

all

precontact

African

societies

were

static

and

status-

ridden.

Indeed,

the

differences

among

African

cultural

groups

as

regards

role

structure

and

basic

personality

types

constitute

one

of

the

crucial

variables

in

Euro-African

relations.

But

such

points

the

author

no

doubt

would

concede

very

readily.

In

sum,

as

a

first

&dquo;rough

sketch&dquo;

Mr.

Mason’s

essay

is

a

real

contribution.

University

of

California,

Los

Angeles.

JAMES

S.

COLEMAN.

Survey

of

International

Affairs,

1952.

By

PETER

CALVOCORESSI.

(London:

Oxford

University

Press

for

the

Royal

Institute

of

International

Affairs.

1955.

Pp.

xii,

474,

maps.

$7.20.)

Documents

on

International

Affairs,

1952.

Edited

by

DENISE

FOLLIOT.

(London:

Oxford

University

Press

for

the

Royal

Institute

of

Interna-

tional

Affairs.

1955.

Pp.

xvii,

530.

$8.80.)

Into

this

fourth

volume

of

the

postwar

Survey,

Mr.

Calvocoressi

has

again

packed

a

small

mine

of

information

that

will

richly

reward

a

student

prospecting

in

the

field

of

contemporary

international

affairs.

Events

of

principal

international

significance

in

1952

were,

to

be

sure,

the

signing

of

the

Contractual

Agreements

with

Germany,

the

framing

of

the

abortive

European

Defense

Community

Treaty,

and

the

continua-

tion

of

the

Korean

truce

negotiations.

But

domestic

political

developments

- the

American

presidential

election;

the

convening

of

the

Nineteenth

Congress

of

the

Communist

party

in

the

U.S.S.R.;

and

the

Egyptian

revolu,

tion

-

all

drew

scarcely

less

world

attention.

Russian-American

hostility

and

competition

continued

to

affect

virtually

all

phases

of

European

and

Asiatic

political

situations,

demonstrating

with

increasing

clarity

how

ex,

tensively

the

world

had

shifted

from

a

multilateral

to

a

bipolar

power

pattern.

The

accompanying

volume

of

documents

selected

and

edited

by

Miss

Folliot

continues

the

useful

function

of

supplying

resource

materials

for

a

study

of

the

year’s

events

in

the

form

of

relevant

speeches

and

public

statements

of

governmental

officials,

communiqu6s,

diplomatic

notes

and

papers,

treaties,

and

newspaper

reports.

Although

most

of

these

items

are

not

too

difhcult

to

come

by

from

other

sources,

few

students

can

be

un,

appreciative

of

the

convenience

provided

by

their

being

assembled

in

this

form.

University

of

Washington.

DELL

G.

HITCHNER.