#english_history 

## Ideas

During the [[Second World War from Britain's perspective|war]] the Allies had started to think of ways in which a new world order could replace the failed [[League of Nations]]. Even before the US joined the war, they'd agreed an **"Atlantic Charter"** with Britain, based on [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|FDR]]'s Four Freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from fear, freedom from want.

At the end of the war the Allies created the [[United Nations]], which expressed the ideas of the Atlantic Charter. The Allies formed themselves into a "Security Council", into which they invited some less powerful nations. But the success of this allience depended on a continuing feeling of common purpose, which no longer existed. The idea of the four allies (USSR, USA, France and Britain) collapsed, as Europe became divided into 2 parts.

## Cold War
In 1948-1949 the Soviet Union unsuccessfully tried to capture West Berlin by stopping all road and rail traffic it, which led to the creation of the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organisation]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]].

In **1950** the UN faced new difficulties in the Far East, owing to the [[Korean War]]. While Britain became more fearful of Soviet intentions, it also became more unhappy with the forceful attitude of its ally, the US.

British foreign policy was also concerned with finding a new part to play in a fast-changing world. It still considered itself to be a world power, and this confidence was strengthened by 3 important technical developments in the 1950s:
1. Research of space
2. Design of nuclear weapons
3. Design of ICBMs

However, by the early 1960s Britain was interested in joining the new [[European Community]], because of the realisation that Britain had lost political power internationally. It was in Egypt that Britain's weaking international position was most obvious, when in 1956 the UN forced Britain to withdraw its troops.