# data[].attributes.body
Civilization

State of human society, in which a high level of culture, science, and government has been reached.

refers to a complex society, typically having sorts of elements: organized government, cities, jobs specialization, writing systems, art and architecture, complex religions. The development of civilization is often with the emergence of agriculture and the formation of social divisions, both of them drive the advancement of human societies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is Civilization? | Daily Bellringer

# data[].attributes.body
Mercantilism

An economic system built on the assumption that the world's supply of wealth is fixed and that nations must export more goods than they import to assure a steady supply of gold and silver into national coffers. Mercantile thinkers saw the inflow of such wealth as the key to maintaining and enhancing national power and self-sufficiency. Within this context, the accumulation and development of colonies was of great importance, since colonies could supply scarce raw materials to parent nations and serve as markets for finished goods.

（is an economic theory and policy that believe nations should control trade and resources to accumulate wealth, especially precious metals such as gold and silver. According to this theory, countries should expand exports and restrict imports. From the 16th to the 18th centuries in Europe, mercantilism promoted colonialism, as European nations accumulated wealth by exploiting colonial resources and flooding the market with goods.）

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
MERCANTILISM, Explained [AP Euro Review—Unit 3 Topic 4]

# data[].attributes.body
The Columbian Exchange is the process of transferring plants, animals, foods, diseases, wealth, and culture between Europe and the Americas, beginning at the time of Christopher Columbus and continuing throughout the era of exploration and expansion.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Columbian Exchange: Crash Course World History #23

# data[].attributes.body
Indentured

In an effort to entice English subjects to the colonies, parties would offer legal bonded contracts that would exchange the cost of passage across the Atlantic for up to seven years of labor in America.

# data[].attributes.body
Chattel Slavery

Total ownership of one person over another.

is the most harsh form of slavery, where slaves are considered the personal property of their owners and can be bought, sold, and inherited like property. Slaves have no freedom or legal rights, and they are usually enslaved for life, with their descendants also becoming slaves. In the American colonies, slavery was widely used for labor on southern plantations, particularly for growing crops. African slaves were the primary source of chattel slavery in the Americas.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Atlantic Slave Trade: Crash Course World History #24

# data[].attributes.body
Puritans religious reform movement in the 16th and 17th centuries that sought to “purify” the church of England.

were religious reformers in the 17th century who opposed certain doctrines and rituals of the Anglican Church, advocating for a purer and simpler form of religious belief and practice. Facing religious persecution in England, many Puritans chose to migrate to the Americas, particularly establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They sought religious freedom and believed that religion should govern both personal lives and community affairs.

# data[].attributes.body
Triangular Trade refers to the trade network between Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the 17th to the 19th century. Europe exported goods such as guns and ammunition to Africa, Africa exported slaves to the Americas, and the Americas exported raw materials such as plants, sugar, and cotton to Europe. Economic exchange amongst three markets and geographies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you - Anthony Hazard

# data[].attributes.body
The Encomienda System

The government in Spain gave away large tracts of conquered land in Spanish America, including whole villages of indigenous peoples, to court favorites, including many conquistadores. These new landlords were supposed to educate the natives and teach them the Roman Catholic faith. The system was rife with abuse, however. Landlords rarely offered much education, preferring instead to exploit the labor of the local inhabitants, whom they treated like slaves.

# data[].attributes.body
The Southern Colonies refer to the Colonies focused on cash crops. the southern part of the 13 British colonies, primarily including Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas (North and South), and Georgia（ plantation economy, focusing mainly on the cultivation of tobacco, rice, and cotton, and heavily depended on slave labor）

# data[].attributes.body
The Middle Colonies refer to the colonies with a large agricultural base. Because of location they were key distribution centers in the English Mercantile System located in the central part of North America, such as New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. These colonies had a diverse economy and social structure, with both agricultural production and urban trade.

# data[].attributes.body
The New England Colonies refer to the Colonies founded by the Puritans for religious purposes. Goal was to create a society as God intended.in northeastern United States, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. The economy of these regions was based on small-scale agriculture, fishing, timber, and manufacturing, and the social structure was more religiously oriented, with Puritans being the primary settlers.

# data[].attributes.body
A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east.

# data[].attributes.body
Before the American constitution, this established the United States as a loose confederation of states under a weak national Congress, which was not granted the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes.

# data[].attributes.body
An eighteenth-century philosophical movement that began in Western Europe with roots in the Scientific Revolution.

# data[].attributes.body
Near the end of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army had not received pay for many years and threatened to abandon the fight, if they were not compensated.

# data[].attributes.body
A colonist who rebelled against British rule.

# data[].attributes.body
Supporters of the new Constitution and a strong federal government. They fear a weak government. Generally very wealthy.

# data[].attributes.body
Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the (British) Crown.

# data[].attributes.body
The decision to have a bicameral legislature, one house based on population, and one house with an equal number of representatives for every state.

# data[].attributes.body
A colonist who supported British rule.

# data[].attributes.body
Supporters of the Articles of Confederation, not the Constitution. They fear a tyrannical national government with too much power and strongly advocate for the Bill of Rights.

# data[].attributes.body
One of the biggest accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation. This established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could eventually join the Union.

# data[].attributes.body
Determined that each slave would be counted as three fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning taxes and representation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
In 1787, A Negro Slave In The United States Was Counted As Three-Fifths (60%) Of A White Person. In 2024, A Resident Of Gaza Is Worth Less Than One-Thirty-Sixth (2.79%) Of A Jew. — Issue Insight

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Four Years Of Debate Needed For United States Government To Decide A Negro Could Be Less Than 100% A Person.   Government Of Israel Did Drastically More To Residents Of Gaza In Less Than One Year.   In 1787, A Negro Slave In The United States Was Counted As Three-Fifths (60%) Of A

# data[].attributes.body
A period from the early 1600s to the mid 1700s where British Parliamentary Laws were not enforced on the colonists.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Salutary Neglect: The Road to Independence, Part 1

# data[].attributes.body
Group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power.

# data[].attributes.body
Women's Rights Movement - The fight for the suffrage (voting) for half of the population.

# data[].attributes.body
Canals - Human-made waterways connecting natural bodies of water, very important for early travel.

# data[].attributes.body
Machine invented by Samuel Morse that used a system of dots and dashes to send messages across long distances electronically through a wire. It connected the different hemispheres of the world, allowing for more communication between people.

# data[].attributes.body
Marbury vs. Madison - Landmark 1803 Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall established the principle of Judicial Review, which grants the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional.

# data[].attributes.body
Eli Whitney’s 1793 invention that dramatically improved the speed for processing cotton, changing the trajectory of cotton production in the United States.

# data[].attributes.body
Warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.

# data[].attributes.body
Uniform pieces that can be made in large quantities to replace other identical pieces.

# data[].attributes.body
Movement dedicated to promoting moderation and, more often, complete abstinence in the use of alcohol.

# data[].attributes.body
A machine that turns the energy released by burning fuel into motion.

# data[].attributes.body
Pro Slavery, favored secession from Union, States' rights, agrarian-oriented, opposed gold standard, supported lowering tariff, and opposed imperialism in 1890s.

# data[].attributes.body
The British forcibly enlisted thousands of American men into the Royal Navy from passing ships, and refused to recognize that Americans had renounced their British citizenship.

# data[].attributes.body
Campaign to end slavery.

# data[].attributes.body
Manufacturing businesses first created in the late eighteenth century that concentrated all aspects of production under one roof, reorganized production and divided work. The key aspect was that it was under one roof and had specialized tasks. Made the production faster and more efficient.

# data[].attributes.body
Opposed Jackson's strong-armed leadership style and policies, but promoted protective tariffs, federal funding for internal improvements, and other measures that strengthened the central government.

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: 19th century belief that Americans had the God-given right to spread across the whole continent.

19世纪的信念，认为美国人有上帝赋予的权利，去横跨整个大陆。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state.

要求即使在自由州，逃亡奴隶也必须被送回给他们的主人。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Southern half of the country, a group of states trying to separate over the issue of slavery.

美国南部，由一群试图因奴隶制问题分裂的州组成。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South, this included that the Fugitive Slave Act was amended, the slave trade in Washington, D.C. was abolished, California entered the Union as a free state, a territorial government was created in Utah, and an act was passed settling a boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico that also established a territorial government in New Mexico.

亨利·克莱提出一系列决议，试图寻求妥协并避免南北之间的危机，包括修改逃亡奴隶法、废除华盛顿D.C.的奴隶贸易、加利福尼亚成为自由州、在犹他州设立地方政府，并通过一项解决德克萨斯州与新墨西哥州边界争端的法案，该法案还在新墨西哥州建立了地方政府。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Loyalty or support of a particular region or section of the nation, rather than the United States as a whole.

忠诚或支持国家的某一特定区域或部分，而非整体的美国。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Freed all slaves and abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.

解放所有奴隶，并废除美国的奴隶制和强制劳动。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The Act served to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30´.

Translation: 美国国会于1854年5月30日通过。它允许堪萨斯和内布拉斯加领土的人民自行决定是否允许在其境内实行奴隶制。该法案废除了1820年密苏里妥协，后者禁止在36°30′纬度以北实行奴隶制。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: When a state attempts to secede from, or leave, the nation it was once a part of.

当一个州试图脱离或离开曾经属于的国家时。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Granted African Americans citizenship and equal protection under the law.

Translation: 赋予非裔美国人公民身份和法律下的平等保护。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: People of a territory should themselves decide the issue of slavery.

Translation: 领土上的人民应当自己决定是否实行奴隶制。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Northern half of the country, a group of states that were generally anti-slavery.

Translation: 美国北部，由一群普遍反对奴隶制的州组成。

# data[].attributes.body
Definition: Granted African American men voting rights.

Translation: 赋予非裔美国男性投票权。

# data[].attributes.body
A system of economic production based on the private ownership of property and the contractual exchange for profit of goods, labor, and money

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is Capitalism | Pros and Cons of Capitalism | CSS Political Science

# data[].attributes.body
Positive name for wealthy business owners during the Gilded Age, implying that they helped the United States become strong through their business pursuits

# data[].attributes.body
The idea that the wealthy and powerful were naturally superior and deserved their success

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social Darwinism | Definition, Uses, & Facts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Social Darwinism is a theory developed in the 19th century that human groups and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection as Charles Darwin perceived in plants and animals in nature. According to the theory, the weak were diminished and their cultures delimited while the strong grew i…

# data[].attributes.body
The railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad, which made railroads safer and more economical

# data[].attributes.body
Negative term for wealthy business owners during the Gilded Age who made fortunes by monopolizing huge industries through unethical business practices

# data[].attributes.body
The idea that extremely wealthy Americans had a responsibility to spend their money in order to benefit the greater good.

# data[].attributes.body
Known as the steel king; he integrated every phase of his steel-making operation.He pioneered "Vertical Integration" to improve efficiency by controlling the quality of the product at all stages of production and eliminating the middleman

# data[].attributes.body
An organized group of workers tha

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A trade union ( British English) or labor union ( American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages and benefits, improving working conditions, improving safety standards, establishing complaint procedures, developing rules governing status of employees (rules governing promotions, just-cause conditions for termination) and protecting and increasing the bargaining power of workers.

Trade unions typically fund their head office and legal team functions through regularly imposed fees called union dues. The union representatives in the workforce are usually made up of workplace volunteers who are often appointed by members through internal democratic elections. The trade union, through an elected leadership and bargaining committee, bargains with the employer on behalf of its members, known as the rank and file, and negotiates labour contracts (collective bargaining agreements) with employers.

Unions may organize a particular section of skilled or unskilled workers ( craft unionism), a cross-section of workers from various trades ( general unionism), or an attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry ( industrial unionism). The agreements negotiated by a union are binding on the rank-and-file members and the employer, and in some cases on other non-member workers. Trade unions traditionally have a constitution which details the governance of their bargaining unit and also have governance at various levels of government depending on the industry that binds them legally to their negotiations and functioning.

Originating in Great Britain, trade unions became popular in many countries during the Industrial Revolution. Trade unions may be composed of individual workers, professionals, past workers, students, apprentices or the unemployed. Trade union density, or the percentage of workers belonging to a trade union, is highest in the Nordic countries.

Garment workers on strike, New York City, c. 1913

Since the publication of the History of Trade Unionism (1894) by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, the predominant historical view is that a trade union "is a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment". Karl Marx described trade unions thus: "The value of labour-power constitutes the conscious and explicit foundation of the trade unions, whose importance for the ... working class can scarcely be overestimated. The trade unions aim at nothing less than to prevent the reduction of wages below the level that is traditionally maintained in the various branches of industry. That is to say, they wish to prevent the price of labour-power from falling below its value" ( Capital V1, 1867, p. 1069). Early socialists also saw trade unions as a way to democratize the workplace, in order to obtain political power.

A modern definition by the Australian Bureau of Statistics states that a trade union is "an organisation consisting predominantly of employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay and conditions of employment for its members".

Recent historical research by Bob James puts forward the view that trade unions are part of a broader movement of benefit societies, which includes medieval guilds, Freemasons, Oddfellows, friendly societies, and other fraternal organizations.

Following the unification of the city-states in Assyria and Sumer by Sargon of Akkad into a single empire c. 2334 BC, common Mesopotamian standards for length, area, volume, weight, and time used by artisan guilds in each city was promulgated by Naram-Sin of Akkad ( c. 2254-2218 BC), Sargon's grandson, including for shekels. Codex Hammurabi Law 234 ( c. 1755-1750 BC) stipulated a 2-shekel prevailing wage for each 60-gur (300- bushel) vessel constructed in an employment contract between a shipbuilder and a ship-owner. Law 275 stipulated a ferry rate of 3- gerah per day on a charterparty between a ship charterer and a shipmaster. Law 276 stipulated a 2-gerah per day freight rate on a contract of affreightment between a charterer and shipmaster, while Law 277 stipulated a -shekel per day freight rate for a 60-gur vessel. In 1816, an archaeological excavation in Minya, Egypt (under an Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire) produced a Nerva-Antonine dynasty-era tablet from the ruins of the Temple of Antinous in Antinoöpolis, that prescribed the rules and membership dues of a burial society established in Lanuvium, in approximately 133 AD during the reign of Hadrian (117-138) of the Roman Empire.

A collegium was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the during the reign of Julius Caesar (49-44 BC), and their reaffirmation during the reign of Caesar Augustus (27 BC-14 AD), collegia required the approval of the Roman Senate or the Roman emperor in order to be authorized as legal bodies. Ruins at Lambaesis date the formation of burial societies among Roman Army soldiers and Roman Navy mariners to the reign of Septimius Severus (193-211) in 198 AD. In September 2011, archaeological investigations done at the site of the artificial harbor Portus in Rome revealed inscriptions in a shipyard constructed during the reign of Trajan (98-117) indicating the existence of a shipbuilders guild. Rome's La Ostia port was home to a guildhall for a corpus naviculariorum, a collegium of merchant mariners. Collegium also included fraternities of Roman priests overseeing ritual sacrifices, practising augury, keeping scriptures, arranging festivals, and maintaining specific religious cults.

While a commonly held mistaken view holds modern trade unionism to be a product of Marxism, the earliest modern trade unions predate Marx's Communist Manifesto (1848) by almost a century (and Marx's writings themselves frequently address the prior existence of the workers' movements of his time.) The first recorded labour strike in the United States was by Philadelphia printers in 1786, who opposed a wage reduction and demanded $6 per week in wages. The origins of modern trade unions can be traced back to 18th-century Britain, where the Industrial Revolution drew masses of people, including dependents, peasants and immigrants, into cities. Britain had ended the practice of serfdom in 1574, but the vast majority of people remained as tenant-farmers on estates owned by the landed aristocracy. This transition was not merely one of relocation from rural to urban environs; rather, the nature of industrial work created a new class of "worker". A farmer worked the land, raised animals and grew crops, and either owned the land or paid rent, but ultimately sold a product and had control over his life and work. As industrial workers, however, the workers sold their work as labour and took directions from employers, giving up part of their freedom and self-agency in the service of a master. The critics of the new arrangement would call this " wage slavery", but the term that persisted was a new form of human relations: employment. Unlike farmers, workers often had less control over their jobs; without job security or a promise of an on-going relationship with their employers, they lacked some control over the work they performed or how it impacted their health and life. It is in this context that modern trade unions emerge.

In the cities, trade unions encountered much hostility from employers and government groups. In the United States, unions and unionists were regularly prosecuted under various restraint of trade and conspiracy laws, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act. This pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labour spontaneously organized in fits and starts throughout its beginnings, and would later be an important arena for the development of trade unions. Trade unions have sometimes been seen as successors to the guilds of medieval Europe, though the relationship between the two is disputed, as the masters of the guilds employed workers (apprentices and journeymen) who were not allowed to organize.

Trade unions and collective bargaining were outlawed from no later than the middle of the 14th century, when the Ordinance of Labourers was enacted in the Kingdom of England, but their way of thinking was the one that endured down the centuries, inspiring evolutions and advances in thinking which eventually gave workers more power. As collective bargaining and early worker unions grew with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the government began to clamp down on what it saw as the danger of popular unrest at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. In 1799, the Combination Act was passed, which banned trade unions and collective bargaining by British workers. Although the unions were subject to often severe repression until 1824, they were already widespread in cities such as London. Workplace militancy had also manifested itself as Luddism and had been prominent in struggles such as the 1820 Rising in Scotland, in which 60,000 workers went on a general strike, which was soon crushed. Sympathy for the plight of the workers brought repeal of the acts in 1824, although the Combination Act 1825 severely restricted their activity.[citation needed ]

By the 1810s, the first labour organizations to bring together workers of divergent occupations were formed. Possibly the first such union was the General Union of Trades, also known as the Philanthropic Society, founded in 1818 in Manchester. The latter name was to hide the organization's real purpose in a time when trade unions were still illegal.

Poster issued by the London Trades Council, advertising a demonstration held on 2 June 1873

The first attempts at forming a national general union in the United Kingdom were made in the 1820s and 30s. The National Association for the Protection of Labour was established in 1830 by John Doherty, after an apparently unsuccessful attempt to create a similar national presence with the National Union of Cotton-spinners. The Association quickly enrolled approximately 150 unions, consisting mostly of textile related unions, but also including mechanics, blacksmiths, and various others. Membership rose to between 10,000 and 20,000 individuals spread across the five counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire within a year. To establish awareness and legitimacy, the union started the weekly Voice of the People publication, having the declared intention "to unite the productive classes of the community in one common bond of union."

In 1834, the Welsh socialist Robert Owen established the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union. The organization attracted a range of socialists from Owenites to revolutionaries and played a part in the protests after the Tolpuddle Martyrs' case, but soon collapsed.

More permanent trade unions were established from the 1850s, better resourced but often less radical. The London Trades Council was founded in 1860, and the Sheffield Outrages spurred the establishment of the Trades Union Congress in 1868, the first long-lived national trade union center. By this time, the existence and the demands of the trade unions were becoming accepted by liberal middle-class opinion. In Principles of Political Economy (1871) John Stuart Mill wrote:

If it were possible for the working classes, by combining among themselves, to raise or keep up the general rate of wages, it needs hardly be said that this would be a thing not to be punished, but to be welcomed and rejoiced at. Unfortunately the effect is quite beyond attainment by such means. The multitudes who compose the working class are too numerous and too widely scattered to combine at all, much more to combine effectually. If they could do so, they might doubtless succeed in diminishing the hours of labour, and obtaining the same wages for less work. They would also have a limited power of obtaining, by combination, an increase of general wages at the expense of profits.

Beyond this claim, Mill also argued that, because individual workers had no basis for assessing the wages for a particular task, labour unions would lead to greater efficiency of the market system.

Legalization, expansion and recognition

Trade union demonstrators held at bay by soldiers during the 1912 Lawrence textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts

British trade unions were finally legalized in 1872, after a Royal Commission on Trade Unions in 1867 agreed that the establishment of the organizations was to the advantage of both employers and employees.

This period also saw the growth of trade unions in other industrializing countries, especially the United States, Germany and France.

In the United States, the first effective nationwide labour organization was the Knights of Labor, in 1869, which began to grow after 1880. Legalization occurred slowly as a result of a series of court decisions. The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions began in 1881 as a federation of different unions that did not directly enrol workers. In 1886, it became known as the American Federation of Labor or AFL.

In Germany, the Free Association of German Trade Unions was formed in 1897 after the conservative Anti-Socialist Laws of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck were repealed.

In France, labour organization was illegal until 1884. The Bourse du Travail was founded in 1887 and merged with the Fédération nationale des syndicats (National Federation of Trade Unions) in 1895 to form the General Confederation of Labour.

In a number of countries during the 20th century, including in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, legislation was passed to provide for the voluntary or statutory recognition of a union by an employer.

World map with countries shaded according to their trade union density rate with statistics provided by the International Labour Organization Department of Statistics

Labor union membership by country

Hours Worked Compared to Earnings Per Week

Union density has been steadily declining from the OECD average of 35.9% in 1998 to 27.9% in the year 2018. The main reasons for these developments are a decline in manufacturing, increased globalization, and governmental policies.

The decline in manufacturing is the most direct influence, as unions were historically beneficial and prevalent in the sector; for this reason, there may be an increase in developing nations as OECD nations continue to export manufacturing industries to these markets. The second reason is globalization, which makes it harder for unions to maintain standards across countries. The last reason is governmental policies. These come from both sides of the political spectrum. In the UK and US, it has been mostly right-wing proposals that make it harder for unions to form or that limit their power. On the other side, there are many social policies such as minimum wage, paid vacation, parental leave, etc., that decrease the need to be in a union.

The prevalence of labour unions can be measured by "union density", which is expressed as a percentage of the total number of workers in a given location who are trade union members. The table below shows the percentage across OECD members.

Cesar Chavez speaking at a 1974 United Farm Workers rally in Delano, California. The UFW during Chavez's tenure was committed to restricting immigration.

Unions may organize a particular section of skilled workers ( craft unionism, traditionally found in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US), a cross-section of workers from various trades ( general unionism, traditionally found in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, the UK and the US), or attempt to organize all workers within a particular industry ( industrial unionism, found in Australia, Canada, Germany, Finland, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US).[citation needed ] These unions are often divided into " locals", and united in national federations. These federations themselves will affiliate with Internationals, such as the International Trade Union Confederation. However, in Japan, union organisation is slightly different due to the presence of enterprise unions, i.e. unions that are specific to a plant or company. These enterprise unions, however, join industry-wide federations which in turn are members of Rengo, the Japanese national trade union confederation.

In Western Europe, professional associations often carry out the functions of a trade union. In these cases, they may be negotiating for white-collar or professional workers, such as physicians, engineers or teachers. In Sweden the white-collar unions have a strong position in collective bargaining where they cooperate with blue-colar unions in setting the "mark" (the industry norm) in negotiations with the employers' association in manufacturing industry.

A union may acquire the status of a " juristic person" (an artificial legal entity), with a mandate to negotiate with employers for the workers it represents. In such cases, unions have certain legal rights, most importantly the right to engage in collective bargaining with the employer (or employers) over wages, working hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The inability of the parties to reach an agreement may lead to industrial action, culminating in either strike action or management lockout, or binding arbitration. In extreme cases, violent or illegal activities may develop around these events.

The Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886 was a trade union strike involving more than 200,000 workers.[40]

In other circumstances, unions may not have the legal right to represent workers, or the right may be in question. This lack of status can range from non-recognition of a union to political or criminal prosecution of union activists and members, with many cases of violence and deaths having been recorded historically.

Unions may also engage in broader political or social struggle. Social Unionism encompasses many unions that use their organizational strength to advocate for social policies and legislation favourable to their members or to workers in general. As well, unions in some countries are closely aligned with political parties. Many Labour parties were founded as the electoral arms of trade unions.

Unions are also delineated by the service model and the organizing model. The service model union focuses more on maintaining worker rights, providing services, and resolving disputes. Alternately, the organizing model typically involves full-time union organizers, who work by building up confidence, strong networks, and leaders within the workforce; and confrontational campaigns involving large numbers of union members. Many unions are a blend of these two philosophies, and the definitions of the models themselves are still debated.

In Britain, the perceived left-leaning nature of trade unions (and their historical close alignment with the Labour Party) has resulted in the formation of a reactionary right-wing trade union called Solidarity which is supported by the far-right BNP. In Denmark, there are some newer apolitical "discount" unions who offer a very basic level of services, as opposed to the dominating Danish pattern of extensive services and organizing.

A rally of the trade union UNISON in Oxford during a strike on 28 March 2006

In contrast, in several European countries (e.g. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland), religious unions have existed for decades. These unions typically distanced themselves from some of the doctrines of orthodox Marxism, such as the preference of atheism and from rhetoric suggesting that employees' interests always are in conflict with those of employers. Some of these Christian unions have had some ties to centrist or conservative political movements, and some do not regard strikes as acceptable political means for achieving employees' goals. In Poland, the biggest trade union Solidarity emerged as an anti-communist movement with religious nationalist overtones and today it supports the right-wing Law and Justice party.

Although their political structure and autonomy varies widely, union leaderships are usually formed through democratic elections. Some research, such as that conducted by the Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training, argues that unionized workers enjoy better conditions and wages than those who are not unionized.

The oldest global trade union organizations include the World Federation of Trade Unions created in 1945. The largest trade union federation in the world is the Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), created in 2006, which has approximately 309 affiliated organizations in 156 countries and territories, with a combined membership of 166 million. National and regional trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups also form global union federations, such as UNI Global, IndustriALL, the International Transport Workers Federation, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Arts and Entertainment Alliance and Public Services International.

Union law varies from country to country, as does the function of unions. For example, German and Dutch unions have played a greater role in management decisions through participation in supervisory boards and co-determination than other countries. Moreover, in the United States, collective bargaining is most commonly undertaken by unions directly with employers, whereas in Austria, Denmark, Germany or Sweden, unions most often negotiate with employers associations, a form of sectoral bargaining.

Concerning labour market regulation in the EU, Gold (1993) and Hall (1994) have identified three distinct systems of labour market regulation, which also influence the role that unions play:

"In the Continental European System of labour market regulation, the government plays an important role as there is a strong legislative core of employee rights, which provides the basis for agreements as well as a framework for discord between unions on one side and employers or employers' associations on the other. This model was said to be found in EU core countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, and it is also mirrored and emulated to some extent in the institutions of the EU, due to the relative weight that these countries had in the EU until the EU expansion by the inclusion of 10 new Eastern European member states in 2004.

In the Anglo-Saxon System of labour market regulation, the government's legislative role is much more limited, which allows for more issues to be decided between employers and employees and any union or employers' associations which might represent these parties in the decision-making process. However, in these countries, collective agreements are not widespread; only a few businesses and a few sectors of the economy have a strong tradition of finding collective solutions in labour relations. Ireland and the UK belong to this category, and in contrast to the EU core countries above, these countries first joined the EU in 1973.

In the Nordic System of labour market regulation, the government's legislative role is limited in the same way as in the Anglo-Saxon system. However, in contrast to the countries in the Anglo-Saxon system category, this is a much more widespread network of collective agreements, which covers most industries and most firms. This model was said to encompass Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Here, Denmark joined the EU in 1973, whereas Finland and Sweden joined in 1995."

The United States takes a more laissez-faire approach, setting some minimum standards but leaving most workers' wages and benefits to collective bargaining and market forces. Thus, it comes closest to the above Anglo-Saxon model. Also, the Eastern European countries that have recently entered into the EU come closest to the Anglo-Saxon model.

In contrast, in Germany, the relation between individual employees and employers is considered to be asymmetrical. In consequence, many working conditions are not negotiable due to a strong legal protection of individuals. However, the German flavor or works legislation has as its main objective to create a balance of power between employees organized in unions and employers organized in employers' associations. This allows much wider legal boundaries for collective bargaining, compared to the narrow boundaries for individual negotiations. As a condition to obtain the legal status of a trade union, employee associations need to prove that their leverage is strong enough to serve as a counterforce in negotiations with employers. If such an employee's association is competing against another union, its leverage may be questioned by unions and then evaluated in labour court. In Germany, only very few professional associations obtained the right to negotiate salaries and working conditions for their members, notably the medical doctor's association Marburger Bund and the pilots association Vereinigung Cockpit. The engineer's association Verein Deutscher Ingenieure does not strive to act as a union, as it also represents the interests of engineering businesses.

Beyond the classification listed above, unions' relations with political parties vary. In many countries unions are tightly bonded, or even share leadership, with a political party intended to represent the interests of the working class. Typically, this is a left-wing, socialist, or social democratic party, but many exceptions exist, including some of the aforementioned Christian unions. In the United States, trade unions are almost always aligned with the Democratic Party with a few exceptions. For example, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has supported Republican Party candidates on a number of occasions and the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) endorsed Ronald Reagan in 1980. In Britain trade union movement's relationship with the Labour Party frayed as party leadership embarked on privatization plans at odds with what unions see as the worker's interests. However, it has strengthened once more after the Labour party's election of Ed Miliband, who beat his brother David Miliband to become leader of the party after Ed secured the trade union votes. Additionally, in the past, there was a group known as the Conservative Trade Unionists, or CTU, formed of people who sympathized with right wing Tory policy but were Trade Unionists.

Historically, the Republic of Korea has regulated collective bargaining by requiring employers to participate, but collective bargaining has only been legal if held in sessions before the lunar new year.[citation needed ]

Companies that employ workers with a union generally operate on one of several models:

A closed shop (US) or a "pre-entry closed shop" (UK) employs only people who are already union members. The compulsory hiring hall is an example of a closed shop-in this case the employer must recruit directly from the union, as well as the employee working strictly for unionized employers.

A union shop (US) or a "post-entry closed shop" (UK) employs non-union workers as well but sets a time limit within which new employees must join a union.

An agency shop requires non-union workers to pay a fee to the union for its services in negotiating their contract. This is sometimes called the Rand formula.

An open shop does not require union membership in employing or keeping workers. Where a union is active, workers who do not contribute to a union may include those who approve of the union contract (free riders) and those who do not. In the United States, state level right-to-work laws mandate the open shop in some states. In Germany only open shops are legal; that is, all discrimination based on union membership is forbidden. This affects the function and services of the union.

An EU case concerning Italy stated that, "The principle of trade union freedom in the Italian system implies recognition of the right of the individual not to belong to any trade union ("negative" freedom of association/trade union freedom), and the unlawfulness of discrimination liable to cause harm to non-unionized employees."

In Britain, previous to this EU jurisprudence, a series of laws introduced during the 1980s by Margaret Thatcher's government restricted closed and union shops. All agreements requiring a worker to join a union are now illegal. In the United States, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed the closed shop.

In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights found Danish closed-shop agreements to be in breach of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It was stressed that Denmark and Iceland were among a limited number of contracting states that continue to permit the conclusion of closed-shop agreements.

Income inequality and union participation have had a distinctly inverse relationship, with the disparity increasing since the 1980s.[55]

The academic literature shows substantial evidence that trade unions reduce economic inequality. The economist Joseph Stiglitz has asserted that, "Strong unions have helped to reduce inequality, whereas weaker unions have made it easier for CEOs, sometimes working with market forces that they have helped shape, to increase it." Evidence indicates that those who are not members of unions also see higher wages. Researchers suggest that unions set industrial norms as firms try to stop further unionization or losing workers to better-paying competitors. The decline in unionization since the Second World War in the United States has been associated with a pronounced rise in income and wealth inequality and, since 1967, with loss of middle class income. Right-to-work laws have been linked to greater economic inequality in the United States.

The Hoover Institution think tank has asserted that the economic inequality argument made in favor of trade unions "misfires on several fronts. Those high union wages could not survive in the face of foreign competition or new nonunionized firms. The only way a union can provide gains for its members is to extract some fraction of the profits that firms enjoy when they hold monopoly positions." The think tank has also asserted that the decline of trade unions in the United States "cannot drive widespread inequality for the entire population, which is also affected by a rise in the knowledge economy as well as a general aging of the population."

Research from Norway has found that high unionization rates lead to substantial increases in firm productivity, as well as increases in workers' wages. Research from Belgium also found productivity gains, although smaller. However, other research in the United States has found that unions can harm profitability, employment and business growth rates. UK research on employment, wages, productivity, and investment found union density improved all metrics - but only until a limit. Forming U-shaped curves, after an optimal density, more unionisation worsened employment, wages, etc. Research from the Anglosphere indicates that unions can provide wage premiums and reduce inequality while reducing employment growth and restricting employment flexibility.

In the United States, the outsourcing of labour to Asia, Latin America, and Africa has been partially driven by increasing costs of union partnership, which gives other countries a comparative advantage in labour, making it more efficient to perform labour-intensive work there. Trade unions have been accused of benefiting insider workers and those with secure jobs at the cost of outsider workers, consumers of the goods or services produced, and the shareholders of the unionized business. Economist Milton Friedman sought to show that unionization produces higher wages (for the union members) at the expense of fewer jobs, and that, if some industries are unionized while others are not, wages will tend to decline in non-unionized industries. Friedrich Hayek criticized unions in chapter 18 of his publication The Constitution of Liberty.

In the United States, the weakening of unions has been linked to more favourable electoral outcomes for the Republican Party. Legislators in areas with high unionization rates are more responsive to the interests of the poor, whereas areas with lower unionization rates are more responsive to the interests of the rich. Higher unionization rates increase the likelihood of parental leave policies being adopted. Republican-controlled states are less likely to adopt more restrictive labour policies when unions are strong in the state.

Research in the United States found that American congressional representatives were more responsive to the interests of the poor in districts with higher unionization rates. Another 2020 American study found an association between US state level adoption of parental leave legislation and trade union strength.

In the United States, unions have been linked to lower racial resentment among whites. Membership in unions increases political knowledge, in particular among those with less formal education.

According to American socialist magazine , "Labor unions have long occupied a paradoxical position within Marxist theory. They are an essential expression of the working class taking shape as a collective actor and an essential vehicle for working-class action. ... At the same time, unions are an imperfect and incomplete vehicle for the working class to achieve one of Marxist theory's central goals: overthrowing capitalism. Unions by their very existence affirm and reinforce capitalist class society. As organizations which primarily negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions with employers, unions only exist in relation to capitalists."

In the United States, higher union density has been associated with lower suicide/overdose deaths. Decreased unionization rates in the United States have been linked to an increase in occupational fatalities.

1. ^ Poole, M., 1986. Industrial Relations: Origins and Patterns of National Diversity. London UK: Routledge.

2. ^ Powell, Marvin A. (1995). "Metrology and Mathematics in Ancient Mesopotamia". In Sasson, Jack M. (ed.). Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Vol. III. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 1955. ISBN 0684192799.

3. ^ Hammurabi (1903). Translated by Sommer, Otto. "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Records of the Past. Washington, DC: Records of the Past Exploration Society. 2 (3): 85. 234. If a shipbuilder builds ... as a present [compensation].

4. ^ Hammurabi (1904). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon" (PDF). Liberty Fund. Translated by Harper, Robert Francis (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 83. §234. If a boatman build ... silver as his wage.

5. ^ Hammurabi (1910). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Avalon Project. Translated by King, Leonard William. New Haven, CT: Yale Law School.

6. ^ Hammurabi (1903). Translated by Sommer, Otto. "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon". Records of the Past. Washington, DC: Records of the Past Exploration Society. 2 (3): 88. 275. If anyone hires a ... day as rent therefor.

7. ^ Hammurabi (1904). "Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon" (PDF). Liberty Fund. Translated by Harper, Robert Francis (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 95. §275. If a man hire ... its hire per day.

8. ^ Epstein, Steven A. (1995). Wage Labor and Guilds in Medieval Europe. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 10-49. ISBN 978-0807844984.

9. ^ Lintott, Andrew (1999). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 183-186. ISBN 978-0198150688.

10. ^ Perlman, Selig (1922). A History of Trade Unionism in the United States. New York: MacMillan. pp. 1-3.

11. ^ Clark, O. L. (January 1948). "Application of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to Unions since the Apex Case". SMU Law Review. 1 (1): 94-103.

12. ^ Goodard, J. (2013). "Labour Law and Union Recognition in Canada: A Historical-Institutionalist Perspective". Queen's Law Journal. 38 (2): 391-417.

13. Kjellberg, Anders (2023) ^ ''Trade unions in Sweden: still high union density, but widening gaps by social category and national origin. In Jeremy Waddington & Torsten Mueller & Kurt Vandaele (eds.) Trade unions in the European Union. Picking up the pieces of the neoliberal challenge. Brussels: Peter Lang and Etui. Series: Travail et Société / Work and Society, Volume 86, 2023, chapter 28, pp. 1051-1092.

14. Kjellberg, Anders (2023) ^ The Nordic Model of Industrial Relations: comparing Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Department of Sociology, Lund University and Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne.

15. "^ The 10 Biggest Strikes in American History Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine". Fox Business. 9 August 2011

16. ^ Amnesty International report 23 September 2005 - fear for safety of SINALTRAINAL member José Onofre Esquivel Luna

17. ^ Solidarność popiera Kaczyńskiego jak kiedyś Wałęsę at news.money.pl (in Polish)

18. ^ "Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training report" (PDF). Acirrt.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011.

19. ^ Bamberg, Ulrich (June 2004). "The role of German trade unions in the national and European standardisation process" (PDF). TUTB Newsletter. 24-25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011.

20. Gold, M., 1993. ^ The Social Dimension - Employment Policy in the European Community. Basingstoke England UK: Macmillan Publishing

21. Hall, M., 1994. ^ Industrial Relations and the Social Dimension of European Integration: Before and after Maastricht, pp. 281-331 in Hyman, R. & Ferner A., eds.: New Frontiers in European Industrial Relations, Basil Blackwell Publishing

22. ^ Wagtmann, M. A. (2010), Module 3, Maritime & Port Wages, Benefits, Labour Relations. International Maritime Human Resource Management

23. ^ "Freedom of Association/Trade Union Freedom". Eurofound website. Archived from the original on 17 April 2011.

24. ^ Leonhardt, David (7 July 2023). "How Elba Makes a Living Wage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023.

25. ^ Ahlquist, John S. (2017). "Labor Unions, Political Representation, and Economic Inequality". Annual Review of Political Science. 20 (1): 409-432. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-051215-023225.

26. ^ "Unions and American Income Inequality at Mid-Century". The Long Run. 12 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020.

27. ^ Rosenfeld, Jake (2014). What Unions No Longer Do. Cambridge: Harvard University. ISBN 9780674726215.

28. ^ Western, Bruce; Rosenfeld, Jake (August 2011). "Unions, Norms, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality" (PDF). American Sociological Review. 76 (4): 513-537. doi:10.1177/0003122411414817. ISSN 0003-1224. S2CID 18351034. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2024.

29. Doree Armstrong (12 February 2014). ^ Jake Rosenfeld explores the sharp decline of union membership, influence. UW Today. Retrieved 6 March 2015. See also: Jake Rosenfeld (2014) What Unions No Longer Do. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674725115

30. Keith Naughton, Lynn Doan and Jeffrey Green (20 February 2015). ^ As the Rich Get Richer, Unions Are Poised for Comeback. Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
"A 2011 study drew a link between the decline in union membership since 1973 and expanding wage disparity. Those trends have since continued, said Bruce Western, a professor of sociology at Harvard University who co-authored the study."

31. ^ Barth, Erling; Bryson, Alex; Dale-Olsen, Harald (16 October 2020). "Union Density Effects on Productivity and Wages". The Economic Journal. 130 (631): 1898-1936. doi:10.1093/ej/ueaa048. hdl:11250/2685607. ISSN 0013-0133.

32. ^ Monastiriotis, Vassilis (17 February 2003). "Union retreat and regional economic performance: the UK in the 1990s" (PDF). Research Papers in Environmental and Spatial Analysis. 77. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024 - via ResearchGate.

33. ^ Kramarz, Francis (19 October 2006). "Outsourcing, Unions, and Wages: Evidence from data matching imports, firms, and workers" (PDF).

34. Kusunoki, S. Hayek on labor unions and restraint of trade. Const Polit Econ (2023). ^ doi:10.1007/s10602-023-09396-y

35. ^ Engeman, Cassandra (2020). "When Do Unions Matter to Social Policy? Organized Labor and Leave Legislation in US States". Social Forces. 99 (4): 1745-1771. doi:10.1093/sf/soaa074.

36. ^ Engeman, Cassandra (2020). "When Do Unions Matter to Social Policy? Organized Labor and Leave Legislation in US States". Social Forces. 99 (4): 1745-1771. doi:10.1093/sf/soaa074. Event history analysis of state-level leave policy adoption from 1983 to 2016 shows that union institutional strength, particularly in the public sector, is positively associated with the timing of leave policy adoption.

37. ^ Eisenberg-Guyot, Jerzy; Mooney, Stephen J.; Hagopian, Amy; Barrington, Wendy E.; Hajat, Anjum (2020). "Solidarity and disparity: Declining labor union density and changing racial and educational mortality inequities in the United States". American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 63 (3): 218-231. doi:10.1002/ajim.23081. ISSN 1097-0274. PMC . PMID 31845387. Results - Overall, a 10% increase in union density was associated with a 17% relative decrease in overdose/suicide mortality (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70, 0.98), or 5.7 lives saved per 100 000 person‐years (95% CI: −10.7, −0.7). Union density's absolute (lives‐saved) effects on overdose/suicide mortality were stronger for men than women, but its relative effects were similar across genders. Union density had little effect on all‐cause mortality overall or across subgroups, and modeling suggested union‐density increases would not affect mortality inequities. Conclusions - Declining union density (as operationalized in this study) may not explain all‐cause mortality inequities, although increases in union density may reduce overdose/suicide mortality.

Braunthal, Gerard (1956). "The German Free Trade Unions during the Rise of Nazism". Journal of Central European Affairs. 14 (4): 339-353.

Cole, G. D. H. (2010). Attempts at General Union. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1136885167.

James, Robert Noel (2001). Craft, Trade or Mystery. Tighes Hill, New South Wales.

Schneider, Michael (1991). A brief history of the German trade unions. Bonn: JHW Dietz Nachfolger.

St. James Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide : Major Events in Labor History and Their Impact ed by Neil Schlager (2 vol. 2004)

Aldcroft, D. H. and Oliver, M. J., eds. Trade Unions and the Economy, 1870-2000. (2000).

Campbell, A., Fishman, N., and McIlroy, J. eds. British Trade Unions and Industrial Politics: The Post-War Compromise 1945-64 (1999).

Clegg, H.A. (1964). 1889-1910. A History of British Trade Unions Since 1889. Vol. I.

Laybourn, Keith (1992). A history of British trade unionism c. 1770-1990.

Minkin, Lewis (1991). The Contentious Alliance: Trade Unions and the Labour Party. p. 708.

Wrigley, Chris, ed. British Trade Unions, 1945-1995 (Manchester University Press, 1997)

Zeitlin, Jonathan (1987). "From labour history to the history of industrial relations". Economic History Review. 40 (2): 159-184. doi:10.2307/2596686. JSTOR 2596686.

Directory of Employer's Associations, Trade unions, Joint Organisations. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1986. ISBN 0113612508.

Berghahn, Volker R., and Detlev Karsten. Industrial Relations in West Germany (Bloomsbury Academic, 1988).

European Commission, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion: Industrial Relations in Europe 2010.

Gumbrell-McCormick, Rebecca, and Richard Hyman. Trade unions in western Europe: Hard times, hard choices (Oxford UP, 2013).

Kjellberg, Anders. "The Decline in Swedish Union Density since 2007", Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies (NJWLS) Vol. 1. No 1 (August 2011), pp. 67-93.

Kjellberg, Anders (2017) The Membership Development of Swedish Trade Unions and Union Confederations Since the End of the Nineteenth Century (Studies in Social Policy, Industrial Relations, Working Life and Mobility). Research Reports 2017:2. Lund: Department of Sociology, Lund University.

Markovits, Andrei. The Politics of West German Trade Unions: Strategies of Class and Interest Representation in Growth and Crisis (Routledge, 2016).

McGaughey, Ewan, 'Democracy or Oligarchy? Models of Union Governance in the UK, Germany and US' (2017) ssrn.com

Misner, Paul. Catholic Labor Movements in Europe. Social Thought and Action, 1914-1965 (2015). online review

Mommsen, Wolfgang J., and Hans-Gerhard Husung, eds. The development of trade unionism in Great Britain and Germany, 1880-1914 (Taylor & Francis, 1985).

Ribeiro, Ana Teresa. "Recent Trends in Collective Bargaining in Europe." E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies 5.1 (2016). online Archived 11 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine

Upchurch, Martin, and Graham Taylor. The Crisis of Social Democratic Trade Unionism in Western Europe: The Search for Alternatives (Routledge, 2016).

Arnesen, Eric, ed. Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-Class History (2006), 3 vol; 2064pp; 650 articles by experts excerpt and text search

Beik, Millie, ed. Labor Relations: Major Issues in American History (2005) over 100 annotated primary documents excerpt and text search

Boris, Eileen, and Nelson Lichtenstein, eds. Major Problems In The History Of American Workers: Documents and Essays (2002)

Brody, David. In Labor's Cause: Main Themes on the History of the American Worker (1993) excerpt and text search

Guild, C. M. (2021). Union Library Workers Blog: The Years 2019-2020 in Review. Progressive Librarian, 48, 110-165.

Dubofsky, Melvyn, and Foster Rhea Dulles. Labor in America: A History (2004), textbook, based on earlier textbooks by Dulles.

Osnos, Evan, "Ruling-Class Rules: How to thrive in the power elite - while declaring it your enemy", The New Yorker, 29 January 2024

Taylor, Paul F. The ABC-CLIO Companion to the American Labor Movement (1993) 237pp; short encyclopedia

Zieger, Robert H., and Gilbert J. Gall, American Workers, American Unions: The Twentieth Century(3rd ed. 2002) excerpt and text search

Alexander, Robert Jackson, and Eldon M. Parker. A history of organized labor in Brazil (Greenwood, 2003).

Dean, Adam. 2022. Opening Up By Cracking Down: Labor Repression and Trade Liberalization in Democratic Developing Countries. Cambridge University Press.

Hodder, A. and L. Kretsos, eds. Young Workers and Trade Unions: A Global View (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2015). Review: Holgate, Jane (9 July 2016). "Book review: A Hodder and L Kretsos (eds), Young Workers and Trade Unions: A Global View". Work, Employment and Society. 31 (3): 561-562. doi:10.1177/0950017015614214. ISSN 0950-0170. S2CID 155792641.

Kester, Gérard. Trade unions and workplace democracy in Africa (Routledge, 2016).

Lenti, Joseph U. Redeeming the Revolution: The State and Organized Labor in Post-Tlatelolco Mexico (University of Nebraska Press, 2017).

Levitsky, Steven, and Scott Mainwaring. "Organized labor and democracy in Latin America". Comparative Politics (2006): 21-42, JSTOR 20434019, doi:10.2307/20434019.

Lipton, Charles (1967). The Trade Union Movement of Canada: 1827-1959. (3rd ed. Toronto, Ont.: New Canada Publications, 1973).

Orr, Charles A. "Trade Unionism in Colonial Africa" Journal of Modern African Studies, 4 (1966), pp. 65-81

Panitch, Leo & Swartz, Donald (2003). From consent to coercion: The assault on trade union freedoms (third edition. Ontario: Garamound Press).

Taylor, Andrew. Trade Unions and Politics: A Comparative Introduction (Macmillan, 1989).

Visser, Jelle. "Union membership statistics in 24 countries." Monthly Labor Review. 129 (2006): 38+ online

Visser, Jelle. "ICTWSS: Database on institutional characteristics of trade unions, wage setting, state intervention and social pacts in 34 countries between 1960 and 2007". Institute for Advanced Labour Studies, AIAS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam (2011). online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A trade union ( British English) or labor union ( American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages and benefits, improving working conditions, improving safety standards, establishing complaint procedures, developing rules governing status of employees (rules governing promotions, just-cause conditions for termination) and protecting and increasing the bargaining power of workers.

# data[].attributes.body
When writers sought to expose corruption in big business and government

# data[].attributes.body
A man who started from meager beginnings and eventually created an oil empire. In Ohio in 1870 he organized the Standard Oil Company. By 1877 he controlled 95% of all of the refineries in the United States

# data[].attributes.body
Patterns of movement across the country, including waves of new immigrants and formerly enslaved people moving toward urban centers

# data[].attributes.body
A banker who financed the reorganization of railroads, insurance companies, and banks. He bought out Carnegie and in 1901 he started the United States Steel Corporation

# data[].attributes.body
The age between the Civil War and WWI when the American economy grew rapidly and individuals were able to use monopolies to amass great wealth

# data[].attributes.body
The traditional belief that the United States should refrain from involvement in overseas politics, alliances, or wars, and confine its national security interest to its own borders.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Isolationism is a category of foreign policies institutionalized by leaders who assert that their nations' best interests are best served by keeping the affairs of other countries at a distance. One possible motivation for limiting international involvement is to avoid being drawn into dangerous and otherwise undesirable conflicts.

# data[].attributes.body
The political orientation of a people or a government to maintain a strong military force and to be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests.

# data[].attributes.body
The movement of African Americans from the South to the industrial centers of the Northeast and the Midwest.

# data[].attributes.body
The practice of allowing investors to purchase a stock for only a fraction of its price and borrow the rest at high interest rates.

# data[].attributes.body
The campaign to allow female voters.

# data[].attributes.body
Political ideology that stresses people's membership in a nation.

# data[].attributes.body
The resolution to WWI that squarely blamed Germany by demanding billions in reparations and destroying German military infrastructure.

# data[].attributes.body
The prevention by law of the manufacture and sale of alcohol between 1920 and 1933.

# data[].attributes.body
American military strategy in WWII to slowly claim territory across the Pacific, leading to the eventual defeat of Japan.

# data[].attributes.body
The railroad owner who built a railway connecting Chicago and New York. He popularized the use of steel rails in his railroad, which made railroads safer and more economical

# data[].attributes.body
The principle that all countries should have equal access to any of the ports open to trade in China

# data[].attributes.body
A popular way to describe the New Deal, referring to relief, recovery, and reform

# data[].attributes.body
A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, socially, and economically

# data[].attributes.body
Tax on imports

# data[].attributes.body
A message from Germany to Mexico—decoded and shared by the British—that urged Mexico to invade the US to keep the US occupied in exchange for German support for Mexico taking back parts of the Mexican Cession

# data[].attributes.body
A captain and admiral in the Navy who was a prominent supporter of Imperialism

# data[].attributes.body
International organization founded in 1919 to promote world peace and cooperation but greatly weakened by the refusal of the United States to join.

# data[].attributes.body
Holocaust – The death and destruction of six million Jews and five million other people by the Nazis during WWII.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
纳粹大屠杀 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
摄于德国控制下的波兰的奥斯维辛集中营。一些匈牙利犹太人经火车到达的场景，绝大部分被直接送往毒气室。[1]

# data[].attributes.body
Globally centered groups that try to solve world problems.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The offices of the United Nations in Geneva (Switzerland), which is the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world[1]

An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own legal personality, such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, International Union for Conservation of Nature, and NATO. International organizations are composed of primarily member states, but may also include other entities, such as other international organizations, firms, and nongovernmental organizations. Additionally, entities (including states) may hold observer status. An alternative definition is that an international organization is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system.

Notable examples include the United Nations (UN), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Council of Europe (COE), International Labour Organization (ILO), International Criminal Court, and International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).

Scottish law professor James Lorimer has been credited with coining the term "international organization" in a 1871 article in the Revue de Droit International et de Legislation Compare. Lorimer use the term frequently in his two-volume Institutes of the Law of Nations (1883, 1884). Other early uses of the term were by law professor Walther Schucking in works published in 1907, 1908 and 1909, and by political science professor Paul S. Reinsch in 1911. In 1935, Pitman B. Potter defined international organization as "an association or union of nations established or recognized by them for the purpose of realizing a common end". He distinguished between bilateral and multilateral organizations on one end and customary or conventional organizations on the other end. In his 1922 book An Introduction to the Study of International Organization, Potter argued that international organization was distinct from " international intercourse" (all relations between states), "international law" (which lacks enforcement) and world government.

International Organizations are sometimes referred to as intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), to clarify the distinction from international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), which are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that operate internationally. These include international nonprofit organizations such as the World Organization of the Scout Movement, International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières, as well as lobby groups that represent the interests of multinational corporations.

IGOs are established by a treaty that acts as a charter creating the group. Treaties are formed when lawful representatives (governments) of several states go through a ratification process, providing the IGO with an international legal personality. Intergovernmental organizations are an important aspect of public international law.

Intergovernmental organizations in a legal sense should be distinguished from simple groupings or coalitions of states, such as the G7 or the Quartet. Such groups or associations have not been founded by a constituent document and exist only as task groups. Intergovernmental organizations must also be distinguished from treaties. Many treaties (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, or the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade before the establishment of the World Trade Organization) do not establish an independent secretariat and instead rely on the parties for their administration, for example by setting up a joint committee. Other treaties have established an administrative apparatus which was not deemed to have been granted binding legal authority. The broader concept wherein relations among three or more states are organized according to certain principles they hold in common is multilateralism.

Intergovernmental organizations differ in function, membership, and membership criteria. They have various goals and scopes, often outlined in the treaty or charter. Some IGOs developed to fulfill a need for a neutral forum for debate or negotiation to resolve disputes. Others developed to carry out mutual interests with unified aims to preserve peace through conflict resolution and better international relations, promote international cooperation on matters such as environmental protection, to promote human rights, to promote social development (education, health care), to render humanitarian aid, and to economic development. Some are more general in scope (the United Nations) while others may have subject-specific missions (such as INTERPOL or the International Telecommunication Union and other standards organizations). Common types include:

Worldwide or global organizations - generally open to nations worldwide as long as certain criteria are met: This category includes the United Nations (UN) and its specialized agencies, the World Health Organization, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It also includes globally operating intergovernmental organizations that are not an agency of the UN, including for example: the Hague Conference on Private International Law, an operating intergovernmental organization based in The Hague that pursues the progressive unification of private international law; the International Criminal Court that adjudicates crimes defined under the Rome Statute; and the CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research), a global partnership that unites intergovernmental organizations engaged in research for a food-secured future.

Cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious, or historical organizations - open to members based on some cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious, or historical link. Examples include the Commonwealth of Nations, Arab League, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , Community of Portuguese Language Countries, Organization of Turkic States, International Organization of Turkic Culture, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Economic organizations - based on macro-economic policy goals: Some are dedicated to free trade and reduction of trade barriers, e.g. World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund. Others are focused on international development. International cartels, such as OPEC, also exist. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was founded as an economic-policy-focused organization. An example of a recently formed economic IGO is the Bank of the South.

Educational organizations - centered around tertiary-level study. EUCLID University was chartered as a university and umbrella organization dedicated to sustainable development in signatory countries. The United Nations has founded multiple universities, notably the United Nations University and the University for Peace, for research and education around issues relevant to the UN, such as peace and sustainable development. The United Nations also has a dedicated training arm: the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Health and Population Organizations - based on common perceived health and population goals. These are formed to address those challenges collectively, for example, the intergovernmental partnership for population and development Partners in Population and Development.

Regional organizations - open to members from a particular continent or other specific region of the world. This category includes the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CLACS), Council of Europe (CoE), European Union (EU), Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Energy Community, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), African Union (AU), Organization of American States (OAS), Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Islamic Development Bank, Union of South American Nations, Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Pacific Islands Forum, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Regional organizations

In regional organizations like the European Union, African Union, NATO, ASEAN and Mercosur, there are restrictions on membership due to factors such as geography or political regimes. To enter the European Union (EU), the states require different criteria; member states need to be European, liberal-democratic political system, and be a capitalist economy.

The oldest regional organization is the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna.

There are several different reasons a state may choose membership in an intergovernmental organization. But there are also reasons membership may be rejected.

Reasons for participation:

Economic rewards: In the case of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), membership in the free trade agreement benefits the parties' economies. For example, Mexican companies are given better access to U.S. markets due to their membership. External actors can also contribute to economic rewards and fuel the attractiveness of IGOs - notably for developing countries. For example, external donor funding from the European Union to IGOs in the Global South.

Political influence: Smaller countries, such as Portugal and Belgium, who do not carry much political clout on the international stage, are given a substantial increase in influence through membership in IGOs such as the European Union. Also for countries with more influence such as France and Germany, IGOs are beneficial as the nation increases influence in the smaller countries' internal affairs and expanding other nations dependence on themselves, so to preserve allegiance.

Security: Membership in an IGO such as NATO gives security benefits to member countries. This provides an arena where political differences can be resolved.

Democracy: It has been noted that member countries experience a greater degree of democracy and those democracies survive longer.

Reasons for rejecting membership:

Loss of sovereignty: Membership often comes with a loss of state sovereignty as treaties are signed that require co-operation on the part of all member states.

Insufficient benefits: Often membership does not bring about substantial enough benefit to warrant membership in the organization.

Attractive external options: Bilateral co-operation with external actors or competing IGOs may provide more attractive (external) policy options for member states. Thus, powerful external actors may undermine existing IGOs.

Intergovernmental organizations are provided with privileges and immunities that are intended to ensure their independent and effective functioning. They are specified in the treaties that give rise to the organization (such as the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court), which are normally supplemented by further multinational agreements and national regulations (for example the International Organizations Immunities Act in the United States). The organizations are thereby immune from the jurisdiction of national courts. Certain privileges and immunities are also specified in the Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their Relations with International Organizations of a Universal Character of 1975,. which however has so far not been signed by 35 states and is thus not yet in force (status: 2022).

Rather than by national jurisdiction, legal accountability is intended to be ensured by legal mechanisms that are internal to the intergovernmental organization itself and access to administrative tribunals. In the course of many court cases where private parties tried to pursue claims against international organizations, there has been a gradual realization that alternative means of dispute settlement are required as states have fundamental human rights obligations to provide plaintiffs with access to court in view of their right to a fair trial. Otherwise, the organizations' immunities may be put in question in national and international courts. Some organizations hold proceedings before tribunals relating to their organization to be confidential, and in some instances have threatened disciplinary action should an employee disclose any of the relevant information. Such confidentiality has been criticized as a lack of transparency.

The immunities also extend to employment law. In this regard, immunity from national jurisdiction necessitates that reasonable alternative means are available to effectively protect employees' rights; in this context, a first instance Dutch court considered an estimated duration of proceedings before the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization of 15 years to be too long. An international organization does not pay taxes, is difficult to prosecute in court and is not obliged to provide information to any parliament.

The United Nations focuses on five main areas: "maintaining peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, supporting sustainable development, and upholding international law". UN agencies, such as UN Relief and Works Agency, are generally regarded as international organizations in their own right. Additionally, the United Nations has Specialized Agencies, which are organizations within the United Nations System that have their member states (often nearly identical to the UN Member States) and are governed independently by them; examples include international organizations that predate the UN, such as the International Telecommunication Union, and the Universal Postal Union, as well as organizations that were created after the UN such as the World Health Organization (which was made up of regional organizations such as PAHO that predated the UN). A few UN special agencies are very centralized in policy and decision-making, but some are decentralized; for example, the country-based projects or missions' directors and managers can decide what they want to do in the fields.

The UN agencies have a variety of tasks based on their specialization and their interests. The UN agencies provide different kinds of assistance to low-income countries and middle-income countries, and this assistance would be a good resource for developmental projects in developing countries. The UN has to protect against any kind of human rights violation, and in the UN system, some specialized agencies, like ILO and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR), work in the human rights' protection fields. The UN agency, ILO, is trying to end any kind of discrimination in the work field and child labor; after that, this agency promotes fundamental labor rights and to get safe and secure for the laborers.

An early prominent example of an international organization is the Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815, which was an international diplomatic conference to reconstitute the European political order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon. States then became the main decision makers who preferred to maintain their sovereignty as of 1648 at the Westphalian treaty that closed the 30 Years' War in Europe.

The first and oldest international organization-being established employing a treaty, and creating a permanent secretariat, with a global membership-was the International Telecommunication Union (founded in 1865). The first general international organization-addressing a variety of issues-was the League of Nations, founded on 10 January 1920 with a principal mission of maintaining world peace after World War I. The United Nations followed this model after World War II. This was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945. Currently, the UN is the main IGO with its arms such as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the General Assembly (UNGA), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Secretariat (UNSA), the Trusteeship Council (UNTC) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Other IGOs include Regional Councils like ICES and the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM), and continental blocks like the European Union (EU), African Union (AU), East African Community (EAC), and Multi- National Companies (MNCs) like SHELL.

Expansion and growth

Held and McGrew counted thousands of IGOs worldwide in 2002 and this number continues to rise. This may be attributed to globalization, which increases and encourages the co-operation among and within states and which has also provided easier means for IGO growth as a result of increased international relations. This is seen economically, politically, militarily, as well as on the domestic level. Economically, IGOs gain material and non-material resources for economic prosperity. IGOs also provide more political stability within the state and among differing states. Military alliances are also formed by establishing common standards in order to ensure security of the members to ward off outside threats. Lastly, the formation has encouraged autocratic states to develop into democracies in order to form an effective and internal government.

Some estimates indicate that the number of IGOs in the world has increased from less than 100 in 1949 to about 350 in 2000.

Barnett, Michael and Finnemore, M. 2004. Rules for the World: International Organizations in Global Politics. Cornell University Press.

Hurd, Ian. 2018. International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice. Cambridge University Press.

Lall, Ranjit. 2017. "Beyond Institutional Design: Explaining the Performance of International Organizations." International Organization 53: 699-732.

Lall, Ranjit. 2023. Making International Institutions Work: The Politics of Performance. Cambridge University Press.

Lavelle, Kathryn C. (2020): The Challenges of Multilateralism. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300230451.

Muntschick, Johannes, ed. (2022): Regionalism in Africa and External Partners. Uneven Relationships and (Un)Intended Effects. Cham: Palgrave. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-10702-3.

Claude, Inis L. Jr. (1964) [1959]. Swords into Plowshares: The problems and progress of international organization (3rd ed.). New York: Random House. OCLC 559717722.

Datasets:

Pevehouse, Jon C.W., Timothy Nordstron, Roseanne W McManus, Anne Spencer Jamison, "Tracking Organizations in the World: The Correlates of War IGO Version 3.0 datasets", Journal of Peace Research.

Roger, Charles., Sam Rowan, "The New Terrain of Global Governance: Mapping Membership in Informal International Organizations.", Journal of Conflict Resolution, 67 (6): 281-310.

Lundgren, Magnus; Squatrito, Theresa; Sommerer, Thomas; Tallberg, Jonas (2023). "Introducing the Intergovernmental Policy Output Dataset (IPOD)". The Review of International Organizations.

Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, Mette (2021-03). "What kills international organisations? When and why international organisations terminate". European Journal of International Relations. 27 (1).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own legal personality, such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, International Union for Conservation of Nature, and NATO.

# data[].attributes.body
Successor to the League of Nations. Exists to solve the world’s political problems.
联合国 – 联合国是国际联盟的继任者，旨在解决世界政治问题

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
国际联盟（英语：League of Nations，法语：Société des Nations），旧译为 国际联合会，简称 国联，成立于1920年1月10日，是 第一次世界大战结束，在 巴黎和会召开后组成的跨政府组织，也是世界上第一个以维护 世界和平为其主要任务的国际组织，为现今 联合国之前身。国际联盟的成立目的如《 国际联盟盟约》所述，包括透过 集体安全及 军备控制来预防战争，借由谈判及 仲裁 来平息国际间的纷争。国际联盟及其他同时期的条约也提到劳动条件、对原住民的公平待遇、人口走私与贩毒、军备交易、公众卫生、战俘待遇，以及保护欧洲的少数族群。1934年9月28日至1935年2月23日期间，国际联盟达到极盛时期，会员国数量高达58个。

国际联盟所体现的外交思维反映了数百年来世界外交方式上的根本性转变。国际联盟没有自己的武装力量，因而需要依靠当时的 大国执行其决议、维持经济制裁，或是在必要时提供军队，然而这些大国未必愿意这么做。经济制裁也会伤害国际联盟的成员，因此这些国家不愿意配合。美国则因为 参议院拒绝接受《 凡尔赛条约》，一开始没有加入国联。在 第二次义大利衣索比亚战争时，国际联盟指责义大利军队将 国际红十字与红新月运动的医疗帐篷作为攻击目标， 贝尼托·墨索里尼 则回应道："国际联盟在麻雀大声喊叫时运作的很好，但在老鹰掉下来时一点用都没有"。

在1920年代国际联盟有显著的成功，但是国际联盟没有涵盖到美国，并且其他成员国也来来去去，故终究未能阻止主要3个列强即 德国、 义大利和 日本在1930年代欧洲及东亚的侵略行为。 第二次世界大战的爆发证实，国际联盟无法起到维护世界和平、避免 世界大战再度发生的作用。国联历时了26年，最终于1946年4月20日被新成立的 联合国 所取代。此外，联合国继承了一些国际联盟成立的机构及组织。

早在1795年就有跨国家构成的和平社区的概念提出。当时 伊曼努尔·康德所撰写的《 论永久和平 》大略叙述了一个想法，由国家联盟在国家之间控制冲突及宣扬和平。康德主张建立和平的世界社区，不是某种意义的世界政府，而是希冀每个国家都要宣称自己是尊重本国公民、像理性存在的同胞一样欢迎外国访客的自由国度，借此在全世界传播和平。

以促进集体安全为目的国际合作源自19世纪 拿破仑战争后发展而来的 欧洲协调，其试图维持欧洲国家间的现状以避免战争。这一时期也见证了国际法的发展。 日内瓦公约创制了法律来处理战时 人道援助，而 1899年和1907年的海牙公约 则规定了战争的规则及国际争端的和平解决方法。

作为国际联盟的前身， 各国议会联盟是由和平活动家 威廉·兰德尔·克里默和 弗雷德里克·帕西在1889年建立的。它由各国（24个有议会的国家）三分之一的 议会 成员担任各国议会联盟的成员。它的目的是鼓励各国政府以和平手段解决国际争端。每年都会举行会议来帮助各国政府改进国际制裁流程。它的结构包括一个将会在联盟的结构中反映出来，由总统领导的一个理事会。

20世纪初期，两个权力集团从欧洲大国之间的联盟中出现。正是这些联盟，在1914年 第一次世界大战开始时，使所有主要的欧洲大国陷入冲突。这是欧洲工业化国家之间的第一次重大战争，也是西欧第一次将 工业化 （例如大规模生产）的结果用于战争。这产生了现代化武器的工业化战争的结果，加上19世纪落后的战略，导致了这次战争产生了人类世界前所未有的伤亡：850万士兵死亡，约2100万人受伤，1000万平民死亡。

当战争的硝烟在1918年停止，战争已经对人类世界产生了极大影响，欧洲的社会、政治和经济制度遭到了极大破坏。人民的身心健康也受到了极大影响。反战情绪在全世界上升；第一次世界大战也因此被人们描述为"一场 以战止战的战争"，并对其产生的可能原因进行了深刻探究。所确定的原因包括： 军备竞赛、 联盟、 军国主义、 民族主义 、秘密外交，以及各主权国家为己方利益进入战争。一个可行的补救办法是设立一个国际组织，其目的是通过裁军，公开外交，国际合作，限制战争的发动以及规范发动战争的惩罚，以防止未来的战争。

在第一次世界大战伊始之际，通过建立国际组织来避免战争再次爆发的提议获得了广泛的民众支持，特别是在英国和美国。1914年，英国政治学家创造了"国际联盟"这个术语并为之起草了一个方案。在被建立之后，他和 布莱斯勋爵带头建立了名为布莱斯集团的国际主义和平主义者团体。这个团体的公众影响力逐渐增大并在当时执政的 自由党 中作为一个压力集团。在迪金森的1915年小册子《战争后》他写下了他的"和平联盟"，它本质上是一个仲裁和调解的组织。他感觉到二十世纪初的秘密外交引起了战争，因此他写道："我相信当外交政策问题为公民所悉知并受社会舆论所控制时，战争发生的可能性会按比例降低"。布莱斯集团的提议在英国和美国都流传得很广，并对新兴国际运动造成了重大的影响。

1915年， 威廉·霍华德·塔夫脱等一众志同道合者在美国设立类似机构，基本上遵照布莱斯集团的提议。同盟会提倡在冲突解决和制裁侵略国时采取仲裁手段。然而，这些早期组织没有设想持续运作的机构，除了 英格兰的 费边社，其他保持法律主义做派，将国际机构限制为法院。费边社率先主张设立国家"议会"，必须由 大国 裁决国际事务，同时提出设立常设秘书处，增强跨界活动的国际合作。

英国 外交及联邦事务大臣阿瑟·贝尔福在 罗伯特·塞西尔的倡议下，于1918年初率先受委托正式报告这项提议。英国委员会终于在1918年2月被任命。它由（被称为菲利莫尔委员会）领导，但也包括 艾尔·克罗 、和。所谓的的建议包括建立一个"盟国会议"，以便对争端进行仲裁并对违法国家实行制裁。这些建议经英国政府批准，委员会的大部分结果后来被纳入。

扬·史末资帮助起草了。

美国总统 伍德罗·威尔逊命令 爱德华·M·豪斯 去起草一个能够同时反映威尔逊本人的理想主义的观点和菲利莫尔委员会的工作成果的美国方案。豪斯的工作成果和威尔逊的初稿，提出了终止那些"不道德"的国家行为，包括间谍和失信的形式。对于那些抵制的国家的强制性措施将包括严厉的举措，诸如"封锁和关闭那个政权的边境，使其不能与世界任何地区进行商贸和对外交流，以及使用可能必要的任何力量......"

国际联盟公约的两个主要的起草者和建筑师是 罗伯特·塞西尔勋爵（ 律师和 外交官）和 扬·史末资（ 英联邦发言人）。史末资的建议包括成立一个包括作为永久成员国的 大国和一批非永久的被选中的小国在内的理事会。他还建议成立一个被称为" 国际联盟托管地"的系统以管理在第一次世界大战中被 同盟国 占领的地区。塞西尔则重视国联的管理方面，并提出了一年一度的理事会会议和四年一度的全体成员国大会的制度。他还主张成立一个庞大且常设的秘书处来执行国联的行政职责。

在1919年举办的 巴黎和会上， 扬·史末资、 罗伯特·塞西尔和 伍德罗·威尔逊提交了草案。各国代表经过长时间谈判，-草议最终成为的依据。随著更多的谈判和协商，各国代表最终在1919年1月25日批准了用以建立国际联盟的提案（法语：Société des Nations，德语：Völkerbund）。最终的国际联盟公约由一个特别委员会起草，联盟籍著 凡尔赛条约第一部成功建立。在1919年6月28日，44个国家签署了盟约，包括参与战争支持 三国协约 或在中途参与战争的31个国家。

联盟会组成一个常务大会（代表所有成员国），一个行政会议（成员只限于主要国家），以及一个常设秘书处。成员国理应对其他成员国的领土完整"表示尊重并保留对外的侵略"，以及 裁军至仅为保护国土安全的水平。联盟要求所有成员国在发起战争之先提交 仲裁诉仲或。行政会议将会建立一个负责对争议作出审决的 常设国际法院 。

虽然威尔逊设立及推广联盟的努力令他在1919年获颁 诺贝尔和平奖，但美国还是没有加入。协议在美国参议院遭到反对，尤其是两位共和党政治家 亨利·卡伯特·洛奇及 威廉·博拉 ，同时也对公约第十条有所看法，确切地导致美国不批准该协议。

联盟于1920年1月16日在巴黎举办了第一次理事会会议，而在此前6天，凡尔赛和约以及国家联盟公约即开始生效。在1920年的11月1日，联盟的总部所在地由伦敦迁至日内瓦 威尔逊宫 ，并于1920年11月15日在此举办了第一次国际联盟大会，有41个国家代表出席。

国联的官方语言是 法文、 英文及 西班牙文（1920年起）。国联虽然曾经考虑采用 世界语作他们的工作语言，并积极鼓励使用世界语，不过这个提议却未曾付诸实行。 罗伯特·塞西尔勋爵在1921年提出一份在会员国的公立学校引入世界语课程的建议书，而国联则委托一个委员会撰写有关的研究报告。委员会在两年后提交的报告建议采纳塞西尔的提议，这得到了11国代表的同意。法国代表 加布里埃尔·阿诺托 却对此提出最强烈的反对意见，他批评这项建议的其中一个原因就是捍卫他认为已经成为国际语言的法语。这项建议最终因为上述的反对声音而不获接纳。

国联并无自己的旗帜和标志。1920年，国联提出关于建立官方标志的议案，但会员国之间仍未达成共识，议案不了了之。但国际组织在自己活动里就使用另类旗帜和标志。1929年，国联举行国际征稿比赛来征集标志图案，后来未能定出标志方案。最后要等到1939年才出现半官方徽章，徽章中间缀一个内有两个五角星的蓝色 五角形。五角形及五角星都象征五大 洲及五个种族，五个种族分别为 刚果人种（黑色人种）、 高加索人种（白色人种）、 蒙古人种（黄色人种）、 澳大利亚人种（棕色人种）及 开普敦人种。旗帜上亦印有徽章，旗帜上方和下方分别写有国联的英文名称（League of Nations）和法文名称（Société des Nations）。旗帜曾在1939至1940年 纽约世界博览会 的建筑物上使用。

位在日内瓦的万国宫，国际联盟在1936年至1946年将总部设在万国宫

国际联盟的主要机构包括理事会、全体大会及常设秘书处， 国际法庭及 国际劳工组织 也相当重要，此外还有许多附属机构及托管委员会。所有机构的预算是由全体大会分配。理事会和全体大会之间的关系没有明确的定义，以及理事会和全体大会两者的权限也没有明确的定义。二个机构都可以处理国际联盟权限范围内的事务，或者是影响世界和平的事件。详细问题和任务都可以参考那二个机构。理事会和全体大会的决策都要求一致，只有一些程序性的事务，或是像允许新成员加入之类的特殊情形才允许例外。这个要求反映了国际联盟在其成员国主权上的一个信念：国际联盟是透过各国的同意来寻求解决方案，而不是透过某些国家的命令。但是，如果成员国之间涉及争议，涉及争议的成员国在决策上毋须达成一致。

理事会，也称为 行政院 ，是国际联盟的执行单位，理事会在1920年成立之初是由四个常任理事国（英国、法国、义大利及日本）及四个非常任理事国组成，非常任理事国每三年一任，由全体大会选举产生。第一届大会选举产生的非常任理事国为西班牙、比利时、巴西及中华民国。理事会的组成随著不同时期而有变。非常任理事国在1922年9月22日决定次年开始增加为6个，在1926年9月8日以后增至9个。德国的一直希望德国可以加入国际联盟，后来在1926年加入，而且变成第五个常任理事国。再后来德国及日本于1933年都退出国际联盟，非常任理事国席次由9个增至10个，1936年又增加为11个，同时苏联在1934年即成为常任理事国，因此理事会共有15国。理事会平均一年开会5次，若有特殊需求可以加开临时会。在1920至1939年之间共开了107次的会议。

全体大会 由各成员国的代表组成，每个国家最多可以有三个代表及一票的投票权。第一次的全体大会是于1920年在日内瓦举行，以后每年的九月开一次全体大会。全体大会的特殊工作包括接受新成员国的加入申请，定期选举理事会非常任理事国，选举常设国际法院法官，以及控管国际联盟的预算。全体大会指导国际联盟的整体运作。

常设秘书处设置在国际联盟位在日内瓦的总部，由许多不同领域的专家组成，受常设秘书处 秘书长的指导。常设秘书处主要分为政治、财政及经济、运输、少数民族及托管（托管 萨尔及 格但斯克 ）、委任统治、裁军、卫生、社会（鸦片、贩卖妇女和儿童）、学术合作及国际部门、法律以及资讯。秘书处中的员工需准备理事会和全体大会的议程、发布会议的报告以及其他例行性的内容，工作上类似国际联盟的公务员。在1931年时其员工有707人。

南森护照的一个样本

国际联盟监管了 国际常设法院和其他几个为处理紧急国际事务而设立的机构与委员会，包括：裁军委员会、 卫生组织、国际劳工组织（ILO）、托管委员会、（ 联合国教科文组织的前身）、常设中央鸦片委员会、难民委员会、奴隶委员会。第二次世界大战后，一些机构在联合国得以延续，它们是国际劳工组织、国际常设法院（成为 国际法院）、卫生组织（改组为 世界卫生组织 ）。

国际劳工组织于1919年根据《凡尔赛条约》第十三部份成立。虽然国际劳工组织与国际联盟拥有相同的成员国，而国际劳工组织的预算亦由国际联盟大会控制，但它是一个自治组织，有自己的管理机构、大会和秘书处。其宪章与国际联盟亦有不同：国际劳工组织的代表不单代表政府，但亦代表雇主和工人团体。是国际劳工组织首任总干事。

国际劳工组织成功地限制了涂料中铅的添加，并且说服了许多国家采用 八小时工作制和每周工作四十八小时。它还争取终结儿童劳工、提高妇女工人的权利、确定 船难 事故中涉事海员的船主责任。在国际联盟解散后，国际劳工组织在1946年成为联合国的机构之一。

国际联盟的卫生组织分为三个部分：卫生局包含国际联盟的常设官员，总顾问会议是一个由医学专家组成的执行机构，还有健康委员会。健康委员会的目的是：进行调查，监管国际联盟在卫生工作方面的操作，以及准备将要被提交到总顾问会议的工作。 该机构关注于根除 麻风病、 疟疾和 黄热病，而后两者则是通过开展国际灭蚊运动来推动的。卫生组织还与苏联当局合作成功地预防了 斑疹伤寒 的流行，包括组织一场盛大的教育运动。

从创建伊始国际联盟就非常重视国际间的学术合作问题，于1920年12月，国联第一次全体大会就建议理事会设立一个着眼于学术合作的国际组织，这一提案由第二次全体大会第五委员会提出并得到采纳。1922年8月经由国联邀请组成的学术合作委员会在日内瓦召开会议，法国哲学家 亨利·柏格森 担任该委员会的首任主席，该委员会的工作包括：了解学术活动的现状、协助学术活动薄弱的国家、在各国创立学术合作委员会、与国际间的学术组织展开合作、维护知识产权、促进大学之间的合作、协调出版物的建目和国际交换、以及推行考古研究方面的国际合作。

根据修订版的 国际鸦片公约，常设中央鸦片委员会需要监督 鸦片、吗啡、可卡因和海洛因的贸易统计报告。该委员会还建立了一套进出口证书授权体系以监督合法的 麻醉药品交易。 国际联盟则寻求在全球范围内终结 奴隶制、奴隶交易以及强迫卖淫。其主要的成就在于成功的促使国联托管地区政府废除了奴隶制。1923年 埃塞俄比亚成为国联成员，条件是承诺终止奴隶制，该委员会还废止了 利比里亚 的强制劳役与部落奴隶制。英国对于埃塞俄比亚加入国联颇有微词，他们认为"埃塞俄比亚的开化程度和内部的安全状况尚达不到加入国联的标准"。

国联还成功的将筑路工人的死亡率从55%降至4%。国联以详细的记录来遏制奴隶制、卖淫以及 人口贩卖。国联带来的压力一定程度上促使这些国家废除了奴隶制： 阿富汗（1923）、 伊拉克（1924）、 尼泊尔（1926）、 外约旦酋长国（1929）、 伊朗（1929）、 巴林（1937）、 埃塞俄比亚 （1942）。

在 弗里乔夫·南森的领导下，以维护难民利益为己任的难民委员会于1921年6月27日成立，其主要职能为监督难民的 遣返工作，如果有必要，也会承担安置工作。一战结束之后，有200到300万来自同盟国各个国家的战俘散布在俄罗斯境内；经过难民委员会两年的努力，有425000人最终得以重归故里。1922年，难民委员会在长期陷于难民危机的 土耳其设立办事处，以帮助其度过眼前的饥馑并防止可能的疫病。他们还为 无国界难民发放了一种 南森护照 以作身份辨识。

国联42个创始会员国当中，有23个（如计入 自由法国则有24个）会员国一直留在国联，直至国联在1946年解散为止。另外6个国家也在国联创立当年加入，不过当中只有两个国家在国联运作期间一直留在国联。之后加入国联的国家还有15个。1934年9月28日 厄瓜多尔加入至1935年2月23日 巴拉圭 退出期间是国联成员国数量最多的时候，当时国联共有58个会员国。

苏联在1934年9月18日成为国联会员国，却于1939年12月14日因为 侵略芬兰而被逐出国联。国联在驱逐苏联这件事上破坏了自身的规定：理事会15个理事国当中，只有7个理事国（英国、法国、比利时、玻利维亚、埃及、 南非和 多明尼加共和国 ）投票支持开除会籍，未过半数，不符合盟约的规定。其中三个理事国（玻利维亚、埃及及南非联邦）在投票前一日才刚刚当选理事国。这次行动是国联最后一轮行动当中的一项，之后它就因为第二次世界大战而停止实际运作。

埃及在1937年5月26日成为最后一个加入国联的国家。于1920年12月16日加入、1925年1月22日退出的 哥斯达黎加是国联第一个永久退出国联的会员国，也就是加入之后最快退出国联的会员国；巴西是第一个退出国联的创始会员国（1926年6月14日），而海地则是最后一个（1942年4月）。在1932年加入的 伊拉克是第一个前身是 国联托管地 的国联会员国。

第一次世界大战末期， 协约国需要要处置此前德国在非洲和太平洋占领的殖民地，以及并非以土耳其人为人口主体的 奥斯曼帝国省分。其后的和会采纳了把这些土地分给各国政府代表国际联盟管辖的提议--换句话说，由个别国家在国际监督下负起管治这些地区的责任。这个 国际联盟托管地 计划，由英、法、美、意、西、日等国官员组成的"十人委员会"在1919年1月30日采纳并转交予国际联盟大会。

国际联盟托管地是根据国际联盟公约第22条成立的。一个永久的托管委员会监管这些托管地的运作，并在有 领土纠纷的地区安排 公投 ，让居民自行决定加入哪个国家。托管地根据当时人口和发展情况而分成三个不同的等级，即第一等（A）、第二等（B）和第三等（C）。

第一等托管地（实施于前属鄂图曼帝国的部分地区）是属于一种"特定的团体"：

前属奥斯曼帝国之各民族其发展已达可以暂认为独立国之程度，唯仍须由受任国予以行政之指导及援助，至其能自立之时为止。对于该受委任国之选择，应首先考虑各该民族之愿望。

第二等托管地实施于前 德国殖民地 ，其在第一次世界大战后由国联负责。这些托管地被描述为"人民"：

其他民族，尤以中非洲之民族，依其发展之程度，不得不由受委任国负地方行政之责，惟其条件为担保其信仰及宗教之自由，而以维持公共安全及善良风俗所能准许之限制为衡，禁止各项弊端，如奴隶之贩卖、军械之贸易、烈酒之贩卖并阻止建筑要塞或设立海陆军基地，除警察和国防所需外，不得以军事教育施诸土人，并保证联盟之其他会员国在交易上、商业上之机会均等。

西南非洲和某些南太平洋岛屿以第三等托管地的名义被国联的会员国控制。它们被归类为"领土"：

此外土地如非洲之西南部及南太平洋之数岛或因居民稀少，或因幅员不广，或因距文明中心辽远，或因地理上接近受委任国之领土，或因其他情形最宜受制于委任国法律之下，作为其领土之一部分，但为土人利益计，受委任国应遵行以上所载之保障。

这些区域在被认为有能力自治之前，一直由托管国治理，比如英国的 巴勒斯坦托管地和 南非联邦的 西南非洲。七个托管国（英国，南非联邦，法国，比利时，新西兰，澳大利亚和日本）共需管辖十四个托管地。除了1932年10月3日加入国际联盟的 伊拉克王国外，这些区域到第二次世界大战结束后都还未获得独立。联盟解散后，他们成为了 联合国托管领土 ，最晚的托管期到1990年才完结。

除了这些托管地之外，联盟自己曾管辖 萨尔长达15年，后来它因全民公投回归德国。 但泽自由市（今属波兰的 格但斯克 ）在1920年11月15日至1939年9月1日之间也曾被联盟管辖。

在 第一次世界大战之后，战争遗留了很多问题予各个国家解决，包括国界的准确位置及国家特殊区域的问题。而当中大多数问题都会交予 协约国 中一些组织（如协约国最高议会，Allied Supreme Council）处理，但协约国倾向将小数很难解决的问题转介予国联。换句话说，于1920年代的首三年内，国联在一战带来的混乱上，只参与了一小部份。由国联解决的问题包括由巴黎和平条约指派的一些国界及特殊区域问题。

奥兰位处 瑞典和 芬兰之间，是一个拥有6500个岛屿的群岛，岛上的居民大部分讲 瑞典语，但是在1809年时，与 芬兰一起并入 俄罗斯帝国。1917年12月，俄罗斯爆发 十月革命， 芬兰在此混乱中宣布独立。此时大部分的 奥兰人 希望重新回归到瑞典，然而芬兰政府认为奥兰是他们的一部分。1920年，因为此争议有爆发战争的可能，英国政府把此问题提交到联盟法院，希望解决此纠纷，但芬兰则以此事是芬兰内政为由，阻止国联介入此事。国联设立了一个小型委员会来国联是否应对此事进行调查，结果为赞成调查。于是国联设立了一个中立委员会。 1921年6月，国联公布决定：奥兰群岛应维持芬兰的一部份，但芬兰须保证要保护当地岛民，包括实行非军事化。在瑞典反对下，这个协议成为欧洲第一个直接由国联通过的国际协议。

协约国在不能解决 上西里西亚土地的争论下，就将问题交予国联处理。 一战后， 波兰对当时已属于 普鲁士的上西里西亚提出主权的要求，国联曾建议在 上西里西亚公民投票，以决定是否成为德国和波兰的一部分领土。对德国当局态度的不满情绪引发民众暴动，并导致1919及1920年的首两次 西里西亚起义 。1921年3月20日的公民投票中，59.6%票数支持上西利西亚归属于德国，而波兰则认为这次公投的外在条件并不公平。此次公投的结果最终引起1921年的。

1921年8月12日，国联被要求解决这个问题；国联设立了一个由比利时，巴西，中国和西班牙代表组成的委员会，以对这情况进行调查。委员会建议上西里西亚应根据全民投票中人民对波兰及德国的偏好分裂成两国各自的属地，并另行商讨两地间互动的细节，例如：因两个区域的经济和工业有著相互依赖性，货物是否应自由通过边界。 1921年11月，国联在日内瓦举行了一次会议，以谈判德国和波兰之间的公约。在五次会谈之后终于达成共识：上西里西亚的大部分地区交予德国管辖，但属波兰的部分则掌管整个地区大部分矿产资源及工业。当这项协议在1922年5月公开时，德国表示了极大的不满，但两国仍然承认该条约。这一项协议直至第二次世界大战开始为止，为上西里西亚地区带来了和平。

阿尔巴尼亚的边界在 巴黎和会上并未被划分，这一问题后被留给国联决定。然而，到了1921年9月，国联仍然还没定案，这造成了不稳定的局面。希腊军队仍保持在南 阿尔巴尼亚的军事行动。与北边的阿尔巴尼亚人起冲突之后， 南斯拉夫王国 的军队也参与了这场纷争。国际联盟派去了由各方势力代表组成的委员会。1921年11月，国际联盟决定阿尔巴尼亚的国境应与其1913年的国境大致相同，其在国境的划分上有三个有利于南斯拉夫的微小变动。尽管被抗议，南斯拉夫军队数周后还是撤退了。

阿尔巴尼亚的边境的边界在1923年又一次成为国际纷争的原因。1923年8月24日，意大利将军及其四名同伴在希腊和阿尔巴尼亚新定的边界被暗杀。此事激怒了 意大利首相墨索里尼，他要求一个委员会在五天之内调查出该事件的真相。无论调查结果如何，墨索里尼要求希腊赔款5000万 里拉 ，希腊方面称除非该罪行被证明是希腊人所谓，否则不会赔款。

墨索里尼派出一艘军舰炮轰希腊的 克基拉岛，意军于1923年8月31日 占领该岛 。这违反了国际联盟的盟约，所以希腊向国联申诉请求解决该问题。但协约国在墨索里尼的坚持下，认为任命恩里科·泰利尼的有责任调停事件。国际联盟理事会审查有关争端后，将他们的发现转交大使会议作最终决定。会议最后接受联盟大部份的建议，要求希腊向意大利赔偿5,000万里拉，但暗杀恩里科·泰利尼的凶手仍然未能找到，意大利军队其后撤出科孚岛。

在 梅梅尔（即现在的 克莱佩达）及其 周边地区的港口城市中，由于主要居民都是德国人，所以在一战结束后，根据《 凡尔赛条约》第99条受 协约国管治。 法国和 波兰政府都赞成将梅梅尔设立为，但 立陶宛要求兼并此地。梅梅尔的控制权至1923年仍然未决，这就促使了立陶宛军队于1923年1月入侵并占领此港口。在同盟国未能得到立陶宛的同意之后，他们把问题归咎于国际联盟。1923年12月，联盟委员会任命了一个调查委员会。委员会选择把梅梅尔交给立陶宛，并给予该地区自治权。1924年3月14日，联盟委员会批准了，随后 同盟国和立陶宛也批准了。1939年，纳粹德国对立陶宛下了 最后通牒 之后重新占领了该地区，在战争的威胁下要求该地区回归。国际联盟未能阻止梅梅尔地区脱入德国。

在国际联盟的监督下，位于 法属叙利亚托管地的 桑贾克伊斯肯德伦于1937年被赋予自主权。在上个月议会选举结束后，更名为哈塔伊，并于1938年9月宣布独立，成立 哈塔伊共和国。随后在法国的同意下， 土耳其 于1939年6月将其吞并。

1926年，国际联盟解决了在伊拉克王国和土耳其共和国在前鄂图曼土耳其帝国省分摩苏尔的主权争议。英方曾于1920年授权国际联盟 托管伊拉克，表示因此代表着伊拉克的外交，而摩苏尔属于伊拉克。另一方面，新立国的土耳其共和国声称该省是历史心脏地带的一部分。由比利时、匈牙利和瑞典会员组成的国际联盟调查委员会于1924年被派遣至该地区。据表明，摩苏尔人不想加入土耳其或伊拉克，如果必须选一个，他们会选伊拉克。1925年，委员会建议该地区在英国托管伊拉克25年的前提下，留在伊拉克，保障 库尔德人的自治权。联盟议会于1925年12月16日采纳建议，决定将摩苏尔划分给伊拉克。尽管土耳其接受了国际联盟在1923年《 洛桑条约 》中的仲裁，但拒绝了该决议，质疑理事会的权利。事件上交到常设国际法院。法院裁定理事会作出一致决定必须接受。尽管如此，1926年6月5日 ，英国、伊拉克和土耳其单独制订了一份单独的条约，极大程度上遵循联盟议会的决定，也将摩苏尔划分给伊拉克。虽然条约得到同意，但伊拉克仍可在25年内申请加入联盟，一经接纳，托管结束。

第一次世界大战后，波兰和立陶宛宣布独立后不久便陷入主权争议之中。 波苏战争期间，立陶宛与苏联签订了 苏俄-立陶宛和平条约，和约内规定苏俄承认立陶宛独立，换取立陶宛允许苏俄军队在立陶宛国内自由行动 。这个协议让立陶宛得以控制以波兰人居多的旧首都 维尔纽斯。立陶宛和波兰之间日益加剧的紧张局势引起了对两国重新爆发战争的担忧，1920年10月7日，联盟促使两国谈判设立了停火和边界线并达成。然而在10月9日，仅仅两天后 卢齐昂·杰里哥斯基将军带领波兰军队强行撕毁和约，占领了维尔纽斯并建立了 中立陶宛共和国 。

立陶宛只能向国联请求援助，国联理事会在收到求助后呼吁波兰从维尔纽斯撤军。波兰政府表示将响应呼吁，从该区域撤军，然而之后却派出了更多波兰军队驻守在维尔纽斯。这促使国联认为维尔纽斯的未来应该由当地居民通过公民投票来决定，而波兰的武装力量应该撤离，并由国联组织的国际部队代替驻守。然而，由于波兰，立陶宛以及苏联都不希望有任何国际部队驻扎进立陶宛，该计划遭到三个国家一致反对。于是在1921年3月国联放弃了让维尔纽斯全民公投的计划。随后提议在波兰和立陶宛之间建立联邦的提案也以失败告终，之后在1922年3月维尔纽斯以及周边的地区正式被波兰吞并。在立陶宛占领了 克莱佩达地区后，1923年3月14日，召开并设定了立陶宛和波兰之间的边界线，根据该边界线维尔纽斯归属于波兰。立陶宛当局拒绝接受该决议，并正式和波兰交战，该战事一直持续到1927年。直到 1938年波兰最后通牒 发生后，立陶宛重新和波兰建立了外交关系，并因此从事实上接受了边界设定。

二十世纪初， 哥伦比亚与 秘鲁之间存有许多边界争议。直至1922年，双方政府签署以解决纷争。按照条约中的约定，秘鲁要将 莱蒂西亚的边城以及周遭割让给哥伦比亚，这使得哥伦比亚有权通行 亚马逊河。1932年9月1日，来自秘鲁橡胶和制糖业的商界领袖，因土地转让至哥伦比亚所引致的领土损失，而组织武装接管莱蒂西亚。秘鲁不承认这军事接管行为，但总统却决定抵抗哥伦比亚人的重新占领。秘鲁军队随后在一场军事冲突中占领莱蒂西亚。经过数月的外交争论后，两国政府接受国联提出的调解，他们的代表亦向国联理事会呈报事件。1933年5月，双方签署临时和平协议，在进行双边谈判时，将有争议的领土交予国联控制1934年5月，最后和平协议正式签定，秘鲁将莱蒂西亚交还予哥伦比亚，并对1932年的入侵事件正式道歉，以及承诺在该地实行非军事化、给予哥伦比亚在亚马逊河和 普图马约河 的自由航行权、及互不侵犯。

萨尔是普鲁士及 普法尔茨地区 的一部分，根据凡尔赛条约的规定由国际联盟托管。按照托管条款，15年后萨尔将举行一场全民公投以决定要归属于德国或是法国。虽然希特勒宣传"德法两国应永久从他们生活中排除武力，一旦萨尔回归德国，德法之间就不会再有领土冲突"，但随着纳粹上台与1933年10月德国宣布退出国联，局势仍然趋于紧张。公投前夕在法国的外交操作下，国联历史上唯一一次组织了一支中立国国际维和部队进驻萨尔。最终公投于1935年1月13日和平举行，90.3%的选民支持成为德国的一部分，该结果很快地就被国际联盟理事会批准。

在1925年10月 希腊和 保加利亚 边境哨兵事件后，双方便开始发生冲突。事件发生后三天，希腊军队入侵保加利亚。保加利亚政府下令其部队只作象征式反抗，并在边境地区撤走约10000至15000人，并相信国联会协助解决争端。国联对希腊的入侵作出谴责，并呼吁希腊从保加利亚撤军，并向其作出赔偿。

美国橡胶制造大厂 凡士通 被控诉强迫劳动及美国控诉奴隶贩运，赖比瑞亚政府要求国际联盟进行调查，由国际联盟、美国及赖比瑞亚指定委员组成委员会进行调查，国际联盟于1930年确认奴役及强迫劳动事实并发布报告，指出许多政府官员参与契约工交易并建议以之取代美裔及欧裔赖比瑞亚劳工，造成赖比瑞亚国内不满，致使当时总统及副总统辞职，利比里亚政府禁止强迫劳动和奴役，并要求美国帮助社会改革。

1932年中国代表和国际联盟讨论满州事变。

九一八事变被视为是国联的重大挫折之一，因为国联的主要成员未有就此事对日本采取强硬措施，日本也借此退出国联，而中国虽然不承认 满洲国 ，但是也无法收复满洲。

最初 中国与日本 签订的条约订明，日本政府有权在 南满铁路周围驻军。1931年9月18日晚上约10时20分，日军 关东军派部队长官、柳条湖分遣队队长河本末守中尉为首的一个小分队， 炸毁了南满铁路在 奉天府（今 沈阳市）北面约7.5公里处的柳条湖的区间，并以"反击中国的袭击"为由，派兵占领奉天与 中国东北地区。1932年1月28日，日军又藉华人殴打日本僧侣及抵制日货为名，派遣空军和海军对 上海进行了 一个多月的攻击。在转移了国际社会的注意后，日军于3月1日成立 满洲国，扶植 清朝逊帝 溥仪为 满洲国皇帝 。

1931年9月21日，中国驻国际联盟代表 施肇基照会国联秘书长 埃里克·德拉蒙德爵士（时译德兰孟）。其后，国联同意施肇基博士的要求，并成立以 李顿爵士为首的 国联调查团。当调查团于12月到达奉天时，当地中国人民都表示日军非法占领满洲，而日本则对国联宣称其行动目的是维持该区和平。1932年9月4日，调查团在 北平签署了 调查报告书，写明"日本占领行为是错误的"及"满洲须交还予中国"，并将其送回日内瓦。投票前，日本威胁大会将进行更多侵略行动，但最后国联在大会以42票对1票（1票为日本，另有 暹罗 投弃权票）通过了以李顿报告书为基础的声明，否认满洲国的合法地位，并要求日本交还满洲给中国。为此，日本于1933年3月27日宣布退出国联。

根据国联条约，国联应对日本实行经济制裁，但国联未有实行此事，其中一个主要原因是美国并非国联成员。即使日本因受到制裁而不能与国联会员国进行贸易，但仍然可以藉著与美国这个大国贸易而维持经济水平。另外，国联理论上可以组成军队进攻满洲，但一些主要大国（如英国和法国）以专注内政（例如维持其殖民地现状）为由拒绝，故未有成事，只是在上海遭到威胁时 进行了斡旋。基于这些原因，日本得以继续侵占东北地区，直至二战完结时由 苏联红军占领该区及 交还中国 为止。

1932年时，国际联盟未能阻止 玻利维亚和 巴拉圭抢夺 大厦谷的战争。虽然该地区人烟稀少，但 巴拉圭河位在该地区内，它是该地区内陆国进出 大西洋的重要途径，并且有说法认为，大厦谷地区含有丰富的石油资源--虽然事后证明并非如此。整个地区不断发生冲突，到1920年代末期逐渐加剧，终于在1932年爆发了 大厦谷战争 。

巴拉圭主动向国联请援，但国联以"所有美洲事务应由 泛美会议处理"为由拒绝采取行动。1933年5月20日，国联终于决定介入调停，但是交战两国突然提出将与四个邻国（阿根廷、巴西、智利、秘鲁）而非国联商讨解决方案，在四国最终拒绝提议后，行程被耽搁国联委员会最终于11月抵达南美。此时战争形势急转直下，战场上取得了重大进展的巴拉圭拒绝了和平提议，并在武器禁运和制裁威胁下宣布退出国联。战争中双方均遭受了巨大的损失，双方共损失9万馀士兵，其中玻方约57,000人，巴方约36,000人，因为各方死亡人数占其总人口甚多，使这两个国家面临崩溃的边缘。双方最后于1935年6月12日在 阿根廷、 美国 及其他南美国家的调解下达成停火协议，7月21日，双方签订《布宜诺斯艾利斯和约》，巴拉圭获得北格兰查科地区的大部份土地。

海尔·塞拉西一世取道耶路撒冷逃离埃塞俄比亚

1935年10月，意大利王国首相贝尼托·墨索里尼命令40万军队自 意属厄利垂亚及 意属索马里入侵阿比西尼亚（ 埃塞俄比亚）。 佩特罗·巴多格里奥元帅从1935年11月的战争，并下令轰炸阿比西尼亚，使用化学武器例如 芥子毒气，并且在供水里下毒，包括未设防卫的村庄和医疗设施。1936年5月，现代化的 意大利皇家陆军击败装备简陋的阿比西尼亚人，攻占首都 亚的斯亚贝巴，埃塞俄比亚皇帝 海尔·塞拉西一世 仓皇出逃。

1935年11月，国际联盟谴责意大利发动侵略，采取经济制裁。但由于忽略禁售或关闭实际上由英国控制的 苏伊士运河，制裁基本上无效。 英国首相 斯坦利·鲍德温后来表示，这算是终极手段了，因为当时所有人手头上的军队都无法抗衡意大利的袭击。1935年10月，美国总统 富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福施行新近通过的 中立法 ， 双边实行武器和弹药禁运，但向交战的意大利人进一步延长了"道义禁运"，包括其他贸易品。同年10月5日及后来的1936年2月29日，带着些少成果，美国竭力将石油等原料的出口恢复到和平时期水平。联盟于1936年7月4日解除禁运，但到那时意大利已经取得阿比西尼亚城区的控制权。

1935年12月，英国外交大臣和法国总理 皮埃尔·赖伐尔推出 霍尔-赖伐尔协定 ，提议划分为意大利占领区和阿比西尼亚占领区，尝试结束阿比西尼亚冲突。就在墨索里尼准备签约时，协定走漏风声。英国和法国民众群情抗议，表示协定出售了阿比西尼亚。霍尔和赖伐尔被迫辞职，英国和法国政府断绝与两人的关系。1936年6月，海尔·塞拉西一世打破国家元首亲自致函国际联盟议会的先例，恳请联盟保护他的国家。

阿比西尼亚危机证明，国际联盟会被成员国的自身利益所左右。制裁不够严厉的原因之一就是英法两国都担心太过严厉的制裁会驱使 墨索里尼同 希特勒 结盟。

1936年7月17日， 西班牙军队发动政变，引发 第二共和政府军同保守派反共国民军势力之间的长期 内战，其中国民军将领大多是保守派的西军将领，意图推翻当时政权，而政府军则效忠新当选的左派政权。9月，西班牙时任外交大臣 胡利奥·阿尔瓦雷斯·德尔巴约向国联发出呼吁，希望国联以武力保卫西国的领土完整和政治独立。而国联并未干涉内战，亦没有阻碍他国的干涉。 希特勒和 墨索里尼随后继续全力援助 弗朗西斯科·佛朗哥的国民军，而 苏联则支援西班牙共和政府。1937年2月，国联宣布禁止外国志愿军 国际纵队 介入内战，但仅具象征意义。

早在20世纪30年代，中日之间的局部冲突便连续不断。1937年7月7日， 七七事变爆发，日本开始全面侵华。:304-3159月12日，中国代表 顾维钧呼吁国际联盟尽快干预。 西方国家非常同情中国与侵华日军之间的斗争，尤其因为上海发生的 淞沪会战时有为数不少的外国人在 上海公共租界面临日本的威胁。但是，国际联盟无法为中国提供任何帮助。10月4日，国际联盟决定将中日冲突事宜交给在 布鲁塞尔举行的 九国公约会议 。

国联谴责了意大利于1939年4月7日的入侵行动，但实际上完全没有行动，而意大利早于1937年退出。4月12日阿尔巴尼亚全境被占领。

1939年11月30日 苏联 跟据德苏互不侵犯条约入侵芬兰，为此12月14日国联决定将苏联开除出国际联盟。1940年3月芬苏停战。

国际联盟的八号文件需要各国裁减到"能维护国土安全并执行常规国际义务"的最低军备。联盟为这一指示花费了相当长的时间和相当多的精力，尽管他们并不确定这样大规模的裁军是否有必要或是是否能实现。凡尔赛合约的相关条款也需要协约国实施相应的裁军政策，这个施加在防御国的武装力量的限制被认为是迈向大范围裁军的第一步。根据条约，联盟需要为每一个国家制定裁军计划。1926年，理事会为1932年到1934年间的 世界裁军会议建立了特定的委员会。1928年，以防止战事发生为目的 非战公约 被拟定并签署。1932年，来自60个成员国的代表们在日内瓦召开世界裁军会议，为期一年（后来又延长了几个月）的中止军备扩张的计划在此会议被提出。裁军委员会的关于限制海军规模的提议也获得了法国，意大利，西班牙，日本和英国的初步同意。

但事实上，很多成员对此问题持有不同看法。在不能确保被进攻时一定会得到军事支援的情况下，法国不情愿进行裁军。波兰和 捷克斯洛伐克认为他们的西部防线很薄弱，所以希望在联盟在他们裁军之前先削弱侵略国的力量。如果没有这样的保障，他们将不会冒着被德国进攻的风险裁军。一战后，德国军事力量的恢复，尤其是1933年 希特勒 的上台让大家感到恐慌；德国妄图撕毁凡尔赛合约重建军队的倾向让法国更不愿裁军。

最终结果表明，委员会并没有能力制止20世纪30年代德国、意大利、西班牙和日本的军事扩张。1933年，日本拒绝服从联盟的审判并以此退出联盟；同年，德国也以要和法国的军事力量保持一致为借口发展军队；1937年，日本和意大利同样采用了类似的说辞。这些都表明了联盟初衷的失败。1939年 冬季战争 后，苏联被国联除名，此为他们所做的最后一项重大决策。

此外，在面对曾被凡尔赛条约明令禁止的将会导致第二次世界大战发生的重大事件，如希特勒授意的 莱茵兰重军事化事件，占领 苏台德地区和 奥地利的 德奥合并 事件时，国盟也几乎是默不作声的。

桥间间隙
标识牌中写到："本国际联盟桥由美国总统设计"。本漫画选自1920年12月10日的《Punch》杂志，讽刺美国不加入国际联盟带来的间隙。

国际联盟由协约国建立，它作为第一次世界大战结束后的和平协定之一部分，又被称为"胜利者联盟"。但联盟的中立立场显示出它在决策中的优柔寡断与无力的一面。每颁布一个新决议，都需要全体9个、后来增至15个理事会会员的一致同意，因此难以实施有效和决定性的行动。同时，下达决策过程缓慢，一些特定的决策甚至需要全体大会一致同意。这种状况主要源自于联盟的基本成员不愿意接受命运被其他国家决定的可能性，所以通过了决策需要一致同意这个强制性需求，令他们可以有效地行使否决权。

国际影响力是联盟长期以来一直存在的问题。尽管它很想囊括所有国家，但很多都宣称永不加入，或只是短期加入。一个有代表性的例子就是美国。虽然伍德罗·威尔逊总统对联盟的成立和体系的确立有着深远影响，但是美国参议院于1919年11月19日的投票结果表示他们不会加入联盟。男爵夫人指出，如果当时美国加入了联盟，美国对英法两国提供的支持，会使他们更有安全感，这种安全保障可以让他们在对抗德国时更全面的进行协作，从而降低 纳粹党势力崛起的可能性。同时，亨尼也承认，如果美国加入了联盟，他对同欧洲参战或者实施经济制裁的不情愿的态度也会影响联盟的处理的能力。 美国联邦政府的架构也会让它的成员身份变得棘手，因为如果没有 美国国会的预先同意，联盟的美国的代表们可能就无法以 行政机构 的名义做决策。

1920年1月，在国际联盟刚成立的时候，德国作为一战的侵略国是禁止加入的。 俄罗斯苏维埃联邦社会主义共和国 作为共产主义政体起初也不受欢迎。20世纪三十年代，中坚力量的离开使联盟逐渐衰落：日本的常任理事国身份于1933年因联盟发声反对其对满洲的侵略时被撤销，意大利的常任理事国身份在1937年被撤销，西班牙的常任理事国身份在1939年被撤销。德国在被接纳后也一度因为被视作"和平友爱的国家"，并于1926年被任命为常任理事国，但阿道夫·希特勒上台后，德国在1933年退出了国联。

另一个无法忽视的缺陷是，维护自己的 国际关系和维护" 集体安全"这个建立初衷间的矛盾。联盟设立的集体安全体系从某种程度来讲会损害 国家利益 ，因为它需要成员们在必要时期与平时并没有密切关系的国家联合起来对抗自己的友好国家。这个缺陷在被暴露出来。在阿比西尼亚抵御意大利的侵略，并向联盟呼吁对其实施仲裁的时候，英法两国本应履行联盟成员的职责进行支援。但他们考虑到自己需要意大利的力量来维护国土安全，最后，仲裁委员并没有对任何一方追究责任。

在1936年6月23日，当人们真正意识到联盟已经开始崩解并且试图阻止意大利对阿比西尼亚的侵略的时候，英国首相（British Prime Minister） 斯坦利·鲍德温对他的 英国下议院 说到集体安全：

最终失败了，因为没有一个欧洲国家愿意真的去实施，那个称之为"军事制裁"的行动......通过这几周的形势我们发现，除了侵略国，没有人对这场战争有所准备......集体安全的概念应该被付诸行动而不只是嘴上说说。我们应该为战争做好准备，并且随时处于战备状态。这很可怕，但为了集体安全，我们必须这样做。

此外，1934年，当 亚历山大一世在 马赛被暗杀后，国际联盟也是第一个以恐怖主义为议题讨论并揭露其阴谋的机构。其中的很多论述与观点都在 九一一袭击事件 得到证实。

国际联盟自己并没有军队，所以决策实施时往往要借助某些强势成员国的力量。但大国们并不愿意这样做。联盟最重要的两个成员国英国和法国既不愿实施制裁，也不愿动用自己的军事力量来提供支援。一战结束后， 和平主义 的呼声在英法两国的人民和政府间高涨起来，其中，保守党极其不情愿看到英国在谈判时签署关于加入联盟的条约。联盟呼吁英国、法国和其他成员裁军并拥护集体安全的主张，在某些人看来，是在剥夺能维护自己主权的唯一强有力的力量。

国际联盟必将崩解。拖延的时间越久，我们停滞不前的时间就越久。联盟把强大的力量交付到了那些善良的理想主义者手上。每个政府都有这样的人。他们会缩减军费支出。长此以往，这个国家就会陷入劣势。

联合国日内瓦办事处保存的国际联盟档案

随着欧洲的局势升级为战争状态，大会在1938年9月30日至1939年12月14日之间向秘书长转交了足够的权力，来使得联盟得以继续合法存在并且采取更少的行动。联盟的总部 万国宫 被闲置了将近六年，一直到第二次世界大战结束为止。

在1943年的 德黑兰会议上，同盟国同意建立" 联合国 "以取代国联。国际劳工组织等国联的机构仍继续运作，最终成为了联合国的附属组织。联合国组织的设计者打算让联合国比国联更有效。

国联的最后一次会议在1946年4月18日于日内瓦举行。来自34个国家的代表出席了此次大会。这次会议关于清算国联：国联在1946年把价值约22,000,000美元的资产（包括万国宫和国联的档案）转让给了联合国，归还了各国对他们的资助，还清了所有债务。 罗伯特·塞西尔 对这最后一次会议发表讲话道：

让我们郑重声明，无论发生在何处，无论辩护方式为何种，侵略都是一项国际罪行；每个爱好和平的国家都有责任唾弃之，并使用一切必要的武力粉碎之；《宪章》的机制毫不逊于《公约》的机制，如果运用得当，足以达到此目的；每个国家的每位善良的公民都应随时准备为维护和平作出任何牺牲......我谨此请求各位垂听：维护和平的伟业，并不止于我们所属国家的狭隘利益，而更维系于那些不论国家还是个人都仰赖的是非对错原则。
国际联盟已死。联合国万岁。

大会通过了一项决议："从本次大会闭会之日之次日（即4月19日）起，除了本决议规定的唯一的清算目的外，国际联盟将停止存在。"一个由九名来自不同国家的人组成的清算委员会在接下来的15个月里监视着国际联盟的资产和功能向联合国以及其专门机构的转移过程，最终于1947年7月31日自我解散。

大卫·甘迺迪教授将国际联盟的成立描写为"与一战前的各种法律、政治手段相对，是一个全世界决定'制度化'地处理国际事务的独特时刻"。第二次世界大战中的主要同盟国（英国、苏联、法国、美国、 中华民国）在1946年成为 联合国安全理事会 的常任理事国。安全理事会的决定对联合国的所有成员皆有约束力；然而，不像在国际联盟的理事会那样，全体一致的决定已不再需要。安全理事会常任理事国可以通过一票否决权保护自己的关键利益。

与国联类似，联合国并没有自己的常备武装部队，但它呼吁成员国为武装干预作出贡献，例子包括 朝鲜战争和在前 南斯拉夫社会主义联邦共和国 的军事行动。

1. ^ Christian, Tomuschat. The United Nations at Age Fifty: A Legal Perspective. Martinus Nijhoff LOLPublishers. 1995: 77 . ISBN 9789041101457. （原始内容存档于2021-01-01）.

2. See Article 23, , and ^ Minority Rights Treaties .

3. ^ 右灰. 明察秋毫的神眼. 云书bestbook. . （原始内容存档于2021-01-03） （中文（繁体））.

4. ^ Knock, Thomas J. To End All Wars: Woodrow Wilson and the Quest for a New World Order （結束所有戰爭：伍德罗·威尔逊與新世界命令的任務）. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1995: 263. ISBN 0691001502.

5. ^ Jahanpour, Farhang. The Elusiveness of Trust: the experience of Security Council and Iran (PDF). Transnational Foundation of Peace and Future Research: 2. . （原始内容存档 (PDF)于2014-07-27）. The League is very good when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out.

6. ^ 资源环境法词典. 中国法制出版社. 2005: p. 285. ISBN 9787801825162 （中文）.

7. Northedge, F. S. The League of Nations: Its life and times, 1920-1946. Leicester University Press. 1986. ISBN 0-7185-1194-8.

8. ^ Toward the Concept of Collective Security: The Bryce Group's "Proposals for the Avoidance of War," 1914-1917. The University of Wisconsin Press. JSTOR 2705943 .

9. ^ Leonard Woolf. International Government. BiblioBazaar. 2010 . ISBN 9781177952934. （原始内容存档于2019-05-02）.

10. ^ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3

11. ^ The League of Nations: a retreat from international law? (PDF). Journal of Global History. . （原始内容存档 (PDF)于2013-12-14）.

12. ^ Michael E. Eidenmuller. Woodrow Wilson - "Final Address in Support of the League of Nations" . American Rhetoric. 1919-09-25 . （原始内容存档于2014-07-11）.

13. ^ League of Nations Chronology （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）, The United Nations Office at Geneva

14. ^ Proces-Verbal of the First Meeting of the Council of the League of Nations . League of Nations Official Journal. 1920, 1 (1): 18 . （原始内容存档于2021-01-01） （英语及法语）.

15. British Cabinet Paper 161(35)on the "Italo-Ethiopian Dispute" and exhibiting a "Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on British interests in Ethiopia" dated 18 June 1935 and submitted to Cabinet by ^ Sir John Maffey

16. ^ The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 25. Americana Corporation. 1976: 24.

17. ^ Myers, Denys P. The Mandate System of the League of Nations. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. July 1921, 96: 74-77. ISSN 0002-7162 . doi:10.1177/000271622109600116 （英语）.

18. 伍朝光. 附录二. 国际组织大纲. 中华民国: 朝领学社. 1931年3月: 217 （中文（繁体））.

19. ^ Çaǧaptay, Soner. Islam, secularism, and nationalism in modern Turkey. Taylor & Francis. 2006: 117-121. ISBN 978-0-415-38458-2.

20. ^ Hudson, Manley (编). The verdict of the League. World Peace Foundation. 1934: 1-13.

21. ^ Du Bois, W.E. Burghardt. Liberia, the League and the United States. Foreign Affairs. July 1933, 11 (4): 682-95. JSTOR 20030546 . doi:10.2307/20030546 .

22. Iriye 1987, p.8

23. Scott 1973, p. 208

24. Events Leading Up to World War II. Library of Congress. 1944: 97.

25. ^ Haile Selassie I. Appeal to The League of Nations:June 1936, Geneva, Switzerland. Black King. . （原始内容存档于2008-03-25）.

26. ^ 郭汝瑰、黄玉章. 七七盧溝橋事變. 《中國抗日戰爭正面戰場作戰記》. 江苏人民出版社. 2005年1月 . （原始内容存档于2016-10-14）.

27. ^ van Slyke, Lyman (编). The China White Paper. Stanford University Press. 1967: 10.

28. ^ Harries, Meirion and Susie. Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. : 163. ISBN 0-394-56935-0.

29. ^ Birn, Donald S. The League of Nations Union. Clarendon Press. 1981: 226-227. ISBN 0-19-822650-0.

30. Ditrych, Ondrej. ^ 'International Terrorism' as Conspiracy: Debating Terrorism in the League of Nations. Historical Social Research Vol. 38, 1 (2013).

31. League of Nations archives, United Nations Office in Geneva. Network visualization and analysis published in ^ Grandjean, Martin. La connaissance est un réseau. Les Cahiers du Numérique. 2014, 10 (3): 37-54 . doi:10.3166/lcn.10.3.37-54 . （原始内容存档于2015-06-27）.

32. ^ League of Nations Chronology （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆） Philip J. Strollo

33. "League of Nations Ends, Gives Way to New U.N.", ^ Syracuse Herald-American, 20 April 1946, p. 12

34. Denys P. Myers. Liquidation of League of Nations Functions. The American Journal of International Law. 1948, 42 (2): 320-354. JSTOR 2193676 . doi:10.2307/2193676 .

Barros, James. The Corfu incident of 1923: Mussolini and the League of Nations (Princeton UP, 2015).

Bendiner, Elmer. A Time of Angels: The Tragi-comic History of the League of Nations (1975).

Borowy, Iris. Coming to terms with world health: the League of Nations Health Organisation 1921-1946 (Peter Lang, 2009).

Burkman, Thomas W. Japan and the League of Nations: Empire and world order, 1914-1938 (U of Hawaii Press, 2008).

. Securing the world economy: the reinvention of the League of Nations, 1920-1946 (Oxford UP, 2013).

. Breaking the Heart of the World: Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the League of Nations (2001) 454pp excerpt and text search（页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）

Ditrych, Ondrej. ""International terrorism" in the League of Nations and the contemporary terrorism dispositif." Critical Studies on Terrorism 6#2 (2013): 225-240.

Dykmann, Klaas. "How International was the Secretariat of the League of Nations?." International History Review 37#4 (2015): 721-744.

Egerton, George W. Great Britain and the Creation of the League of Nations: Strategy, Politics, and International Organization, 1914-1919. University of North Carolina Press. 1978. ISBN 0-807-81320-6.

Gill, George. The League of Nations from 1929 to 1946. Avery Publishing Group . 1996. ISBN 0-89529-637-3.

Ginneken, Anique H.M. van. Historical Dictionary of the League of Nations (2006) excerpt and text search（页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）

Jenne, Erin K. Nested Security: Lessons in Conflict Management from the League of Nations and the European Union (Cornell UP, 2015).

Kuehl, Warren F; Dunn, Lynne K. Keeping the Covenant: American Internationalists and the League of Nations, 1920-1939. 1997.

Lloyd, Lorna. ""(O) n the side of justice and peace": Canada on the League of Nations Council 1927-1930." Diplomacy & Statecraft 24#2 (2013): 171-191.

McCarthy, Helen. The British People and the League of Nations: Democracy, citizenship and internationalism, c. 1918-45 (Oxford UP, 2011). online review （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）

Malin, James C. The United States after the World War. 1930: 5-82 . （原始内容存档于2012-05-28）.

Marbeau, Michel. La Société des Nations. Presses Universitaires de France. 2001. ISBN 2-13-051635-1 （法语）.

Ostrower, Gary. The League of Nations from 1919 to 1929 (Partners for Peace. Avery Publishing Group . 1995. ISBN 0895296365.

Swart, William J. "The League of Nations and the Irish Question." Sociological Quarterly 36.3 (1995): 465-481.

Walters, Francis P. A History of the League of Nations. Oxford University Press. 1952.

Yearwood, Peter J. Guarantee of Peace: The League of Nations in British Policy 1914-1925 (Oxford UP, 2009).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
国际联盟 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
国际联盟（英语：League of Nations，法语：Société des Nations），旧译为 国际联合会，简称 国联，成立于1920年1月10日，是 第一次世界大战结束，在 巴黎和会召开后组成的跨政府组织，也是世界上第一个以维护 世界和平为其主要任务的国际组织，为现今 联合国之前身。国际联盟的成立目的如《 国际联盟盟约》所述，包括透过 集体安全及 军备控制来预防战争，借由谈判及

# data[].attributes.body
Bretton Woods System – Created the World Bank and IMF to solve the world’s economic problems.

布雷顿森林体系 – 创建了世界银行和国际货币基金组织（IMF），旨在解决全球经济问题。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
布雷顿森林体系 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书

# data[].attributes.body
Military alliance primarily between the USA and Western Europe.
北大西洋公约组织（NATO） – 主要由美国和西欧国家组成的军事联盟。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO, ; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states - 28 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber (Latin for "a mind unfettered in deliberation").

NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while NATO's military headquarters are near Mons, Belgium. The alliance has targeted its NATO Response Force deployments in Eastern Europe, and the combined militaries of all NATO members include around 3.5 million soldiers and personnel. Their combined military spending as of 2020 constituted over 57 percent of the global nominal total. Moreover, members have agreed to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least two percent of their GDP by 2024.

NATO formed with twelve founding members and has added new members eight times, most recently when North Macedonia joined the alliance in March 2020. Following the acceptance of their applications for membership in June 2022, Finland and Sweden are anticipated to become the 31st and 32nd members, with their Accession Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty now in the process of being ratified by the existing members. In addition, NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members. Enlargement has led to tensions with non-member Russia, one of the twenty additional countries participating in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. Another nineteen countries are involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes with NATO.

The Treaty of Dunkirk was signed by France and the United Kingdom on 4 March 1947, during the aftermath of World War II and the start of the Cold War, as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance in the event of possible attacks by Germany or the Soviet Union. In March 1948, this alliance was expanded in the Treaty of Brussels to include the Benelux countries, forming the Brussels Treaty Organization, commonly known as the Western Union. Talks for a wider military alliance, which could include North America, also began that month in the United States, where their foreign policy under the Truman Doctrine promoted international solidarity against actions they saw as communist aggression, such as the February 1948 coup d'état in Czechoslovakia. These talks resulted in the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 by the member states of the Western Union plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. Canadian diplomat Lester B. Pearson was a key author and drafter of the treaty.

The North Atlantic Treaty was largely dormant until the Korean War initiated the establishment of NATO to implement it with an integrated military structure. This included the formation of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in 1951, which adopted many of the Western Union's military structures and plans, including their agreements on standardizing equipment and agreements on stationing foreign military forces in European countries. In 1952, the post of Secretary General of NATO was established as the organization's chief civilian. That year also saw the first major NATO maritime exercises, Exercise Mainbrace and the accession of Greece and Turkey to the organization. Following the London and Paris Conferences, West Germany was permitted to rearm militarily, as they joined NATO in May 1955, which was, in turn, a major factor in the creation of the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact, delineating the two opposing sides of the Cold War.

The building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 marked a height in Cold War tensions, when 400,000 US troops were stationed in Europe. Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion - doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of France from NATO's military structure in 1966. In 1982, the newly democratic Spain joined the alliance.

The Revolutions of 1989 in Europe led to a strategic re-evaluation of NATO's purpose, nature, tasks, and focus on the continent. In October 1990, East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance, and in November 1990, the alliance signed the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) in Paris with the Soviet Union. It mandated specific military reductions across the continent, which continued after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact in February 1991 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union that December, which removed the de facto main adversaries of NATO. This began a draw-down of military spending and equipment in Europe. The CFE treaty allowed signatories to remove 52,000 pieces of conventional armaments in the following sixteen years, and allowed military spending by NATO's European members to decline by 28 percent from 1990 to 2015. In 1990 assurances were given by several Western leaders to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand further east, as revealed by memoranda of private conversations. However, the final text of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, signed later that year, contained no mention of the issue of eastward expansion.

In the 1990s, the organization extended its activities into political and humanitarian situations that had not formerly been NATO concerns. During the Breakup of Yugoslavia, the organization conducted its first military interventions in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and later Yugoslavia in 1999. These conflicts motivated a major post-Cold War military restructuring. NATO's military structure was cut back and reorganized, with new forces such as the Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps established.

Politically, the organization sought better relations with the newly autonomous Central and Eastern European states, and diplomatic forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up during this post-Cold War period, including the Partnership for Peace and the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative in 1994, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997, and the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council in 1998. At the 1999 Washington summit, Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic officially joined NATO, and the organization also issued new guidelines for membership with individualized " Membership Action Plans". These plans governed the addition of new alliance members: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, and North Macedonia in 2020. The election of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 led to a major reform of France's military position, culminating with the return to full membership on 4 April 2009, which also included France rejoining the NATO Military Command Structure, while maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent.

Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty, requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the September 11 attacks, after which troops were deployed to Afghanistan under the NATO-led ISAF. The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending trainers to Iraq, assisting in counter-piracy operations, and in 2011 enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

Russia's annexation of Crimea led to strong condemnation by all NATO members, and was one of the seven times that Article 4, which calls for consultation among NATO members, has been invoked. Prior times included during the Iraq War and Syrian Civil War. At the 2014 Wales summit, the leaders of NATO's member states formally committed for the first time to spend the equivalent of at least two percent of their gross domestic products on defence by 2024, which had previously been only an informal guideline. At the 2016 Warsaw summit, NATO countries agreed on the creation of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence, which deployed four multinational battalion-sized battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, several NATO countries sent ground troops, warships and fighter aircraft to reinforce the alliance's eastern flank, and multiple countries again invoked Article 4. In March 2022, NATO leaders met at Brussels for an extraordinary summit which also involved Group of Seven and European Union leaders. NATO member states agreed to establish four additional battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, and elements of the NATO Response Force were activated for the first time in NATO's history.

As of June 2022, NATO had deployed 40,000 troops along its 2,500-kilometres-long Eastern flank to deter Russian aggression. More than half of this number have been deployed in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, which five countries muster a considerable combined ex-NATO force of 259,000 troops. To supplement Bulgaria's Air Force, Spain sent Eurofighter Typhoons, the Netherlands sent eight F-35 attack aircraft, and additional French and US attack aircraft would arrive soon as well.

NATO enjoys public support across its member states.

Military operations

Early operations

No military operations were conducted by NATO during the Cold War. Following the end of the Cold War, the first operations, Anchor Guard in 1990 and Ace Guard in 1991, were prompted by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Airborne early warning aircraft were sent to provide coverage of southeastern Turkey, and later a quick-reaction force was deployed to the area.

Bosnia and Herzegovina intervention

The Bosnian War began in 1992, as a result of the Breakup of Yugoslavia. The deteriorating situation led to United Nations Security Council Resolution 816 on 9 October 1992, ordering a no-fly zone over central Bosnia and Herzegovina, which NATO began enforcing on 12 April 1993 with Operation Deny Flight. From June 1993 until October 1996, Operation Sharp Guard added maritime enforcement of the arms embargo and economic sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On 28 February 1994, NATO took its first wartime action by shooting down four Bosnian Serb aircraft violating the no-fly zone.

On 10 and 11 April 1994, the United Nations Protection Force called in air strikes to protect the Goražde safe area, resulting in the bombing of a Bosnian Serb military command outpost near Goražde by two US F-16 jets acting under NATO direction. In retaliation, Serbs took 150 U.N. personnel hostage on 14 April. On 16 April a British Sea Harrier was shot down over Goražde by Serb forces.

In August 1995, a two-week NATO bombing campaign, Operation Deliberate Force, began against the Army of the Republika Srpska, after the Srebrenica genocide. Further NATO air strikes helped bring the Yugoslav Wars to an end, resulting in the Dayton Agreement in November 1995. As part of this agreement, NATO deployed a UN-mandated peacekeeping force, under Operation Joint Endeavor, named IFOR. Almost 60,000 NATO troops were joined by forces from non-NATO countries in this peacekeeping mission. This transitioned into the smaller SFOR, which started with 32,000 troops initially and ran from December 1996 until December 2004, when operations were then passed onto the European Union Force Althea. Following the lead of its member states, NATO began to award a service medal, the NATO Medal, for these operations.

Kosovo intervention

In an effort to stop Slobodan Milošević's Serbian-led crackdown on KLA separatists and Albanian civilians in Kosovo, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1199 on 23 September 1998 to demand a ceasefire. Negotiations under US Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke broke down on 23 March 1999, and he handed the matter to NATO, which started a 78-day bombing campaign on 24 March 1999. Operation Allied Force targeted the military capabilities of what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During the crisis, NATO also deployed one of its international reaction forces, the ACE Mobile Force (Land), to Albania as the Albania Force (AFOR), to deliver humanitarian aid to refugees from Kosovo.

The campaign was criticized over whether it had legitimacy and for the civilian casualties, including the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Milošević finally accepted the terms of an international peace plan on 3 June 1999, ending the Kosovo War. On 11 June, Milošević further accepted UN resolution 1244, under the mandate of which NATO then helped establish the KFOR peacekeeping force. Nearly one million refugees had fled Kosovo, and part of KFOR's mandate was to protect the humanitarian missions, in addition to deterring violence. In August-September 2001, the alliance also mounted Operation Essential Harvest, a mission disarming ethnic Albanian militias in the Republic of Macedonia. As of 1 December 2013, 4,882 KFOR soldiers, representing 31 countries, continue to operate in the area.

The US, the UK, and most other NATO countries opposed efforts to require the UN Security Council to approve NATO military strikes, such as the action against Serbia in 1999, while France and some others claimed that the alliance needed UN approval. The US/UK side claimed that this would undermine the authority of the alliance, and they noted that Russia and China would have exercised their Security Council vetoes to block the strike on Yugoslavia, and could do the same in future conflicts where NATO intervention was required, thus nullifying the entire potency and purpose of the organization. Recognizing the post-Cold War military environment, NATO adopted the Alliance Strategic Concept during its Washington summit in April 1999 that emphasized conflict prevention and crisis management.

War in Afghanistan

The September 11 attacks in the United States caused NATO to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter for the first time in the organization's history. The Article states that an attack on any member shall be considered to be an attack on all. The invocation was confirmed on 4 October 2001 when NATO determined that the attacks were indeed eligible under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty. The eight official actions taken by NATO in response to the attacks included Operation Eagle Assist and Operation Active Endeavour, a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction, and to enhance the security of shipping in general, which began on 4 October 2001.

The alliance showed unity: on 16 April 2003, NATO agreed to take command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which included troops from 42 countries. The decision came at the request of Germany and the Netherlands, the two countries leading ISAF at the time of the agreement, and all nineteen NATO ambassadors approved it unanimously. The handover of control to NATO took place on 11 August, and marked the first time in NATO's history that it took charge of a mission outside the north Atlantic area.

ISAF was initially charged with securing Kabul and surrounding areas from the Taliban, al Qaeda and factional warlords, so as to allow for the establishment of the Afghan Transitional Administration headed by Hamid Karzai. In October 2003, the UN Security Council authorized the expansion of the ISAF mission throughout Afghanistan, and ISAF subsequently expanded the mission in four main stages over the whole of the country.

On 31 July 2006, the ISAF additionally took over military operations in the south of Afghanistan from a US-led anti-terrorism coalition. Due to the intensity of the fighting in the south, in 2011 France allowed a squadron of Mirage 2000 fighter/attack aircraft to be moved into the area, to Kandahar, in order to reinforce the alliance's efforts. During its 2012 Chicago Summit, NATO endorsed a plan to end the Afghanistan war and to remove the NATO-led ISAF Forces by the end of December 2014. ISAF was disestablished in December 2014 and replaced by the follow-on training Resolute Support Mission.

On 14 April 2021, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had agreed to start withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by May 1. Soon after the withdrawal of NATO troops started, the Taliban launched an offensive against the Afghan government, quickly advancing in front of collapsing Afghan Armed Forces. By 15 August 2021, Taliban militants controlled the vast majority of Afghanistan and had encircled the capital city of Kabul. Some politicians in NATO member states have described the chaotic withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan and the collapse of the Afghan government as the greatest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding.

Iraq training mission

In August 2004, during the Iraq War, NATO formed the NATO Training Mission - Iraq, a training mission to assist the Iraqi security forces in conjunction with the US-led MNF-I. The NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) was established at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government under the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546. The aim of NTM-I was to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions so that Iraq can build an effective and sustainable capability that addresses the needs of the country. NTM-I was not a combat mission but is a distinct mission, under the political control of the North Atlantic Council. Its operational emphasis was on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission were coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the US-led Deputy Commanding General Advising and Training, who was also dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-I. The mission officially concluded on 17 December 2011.

Turkey invoked the first Article 4 meetings in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War. Turkey also invoked this article twice in 2012 during the Syrian Civil War, after the downing of an unarmed Turkish F-4 reconnaissance jet, and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria, and again in 2015 after threats by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to its territorial integrity.

Gulf of Aden anti-piracy

Beginning on 17 August 2009, NATO deployed warships in an operation to protect maritime traffic in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean from Somali pirates, and help strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states. The operation was approved by the North Atlantic Council and involved warships primarily from the United States though vessels from many other countries were also included. Operation Ocean Shield focused on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider which were distributing aid as part of the World Food Programme mission in Somalia. Russia, China and South Korea sent warships to participate in the activities as well. The operation sought to dissuade and interrupt pirate attacks, protect vessels, and to increase the general level of security in the region.

Libya intervention

During the Libyan Civil War, violence between protesters and the Libyan government under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi escalated, and on 17 March 2011 led to the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which called for a ceasefire, and authorized military action to protect civilians. A coalition that included several NATO members began enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya shortly afterwards, beginning with Opération Harmattan by the French Air Force on 19 March.

On 20 March 2011, NATO states agreed on enforcing an arms embargo against Libya with Operation Unified Protector using ships from NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 and Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1, and additional ships and submarines from NATO members. They would "monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries".

On 24 March, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone from the initial coalition, while command of targeting ground units remained with the coalition's forces. NATO began officially enforcing the UN resolution on 27 March 2011 with assistance from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. By June, reports of divisions within the alliance surfaced as only eight of the 28 member states were participating in combat operations, resulting in a confrontation between US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and countries such as Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Germany with Gates calling on the latter to contribute more and the latter believing the organization has overstepped its mandate in the conflict. In his final policy speech in Brussels on 10 June, Gates further criticized allied countries in suggesting their actions could cause the demise of NATO. The German foreign ministry pointed to "a considerable [German] contribution to NATO and NATO-led operations" and to the fact that this engagement was highly valued by President Obama.

While the mission was extended into September, Norway that day (10 June) announced it would begin scaling down contributions and complete withdrawal by 1 August. Earlier that week it was reported Danish air fighters were running out of bombs. The following week, the head of the Royal Navy said the country's operations in the conflict were not sustainable. By the end of the mission in October 2011, after the death of Colonel Gaddafi, NATO planes had flown about 9,500 strike sorties against pro-Gaddafi targets. A report from the organization Human Rights Watch in May 2012 identified at least 72 civilians killed in the campaign.

Following a coup d'état attempt in October 2013, Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan requested technical advice and trainers from NATO to assist with ongoing security issues.

Syrian Civil War

Use of Article 5 has been threatened multiple times and four out of seven official Article 4 consultations have been called due to spillover in Turkey from the Syrian Civil War. In April 2012, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan considered invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty to protect Turkish national security in a dispute over the Syrian Civil War. The alliance responded quickly, and a spokesperson said the alliance was "monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to do so" and "takes it very seriously protecting its members."

After the shooting down of a Turkish military jet by Syria in June of 2012 and Syrian forces shelling Turkish cities in October of 2012 resulting in two Article 4 consultations, NATO approved Operation Active Fence. In the past decade the conflict has only escalated. In response to the 2015 Suruç bombing, which Turkey attributed to ISIS, and other security issues along its southern border, Turkey called for an emergency meeting. The latest consultation happened in February of 2020, as part of increasing tensions due to the Northwestern Syria offensive, which involved Syrian and suspected Russian airstrikes on Turkish troops, and risked direct confrontration between Russia and a NATO member. Each escalation and attack has been meet with an extension of the initial Operation Active Fence mission.

Membership

NATO has thirty members, mainly in Europe and North America. Some of these countries also have territory on multiple continents, which can be covered only as far south as the Tropic of Cancer in the Atlantic Ocean, which defines NATO's "area of responsibility" under Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty. During the original treaty negotiations, the United States insisted that colonies such as the Belgian Congo be excluded from the treaty. French Algeria was, however, covered until its independence on 3 July 1962. Twelve of these thirty are original members who joined in 1949, while the other eighteen joined in one of eight enlargement rounds.

Few members spend more than two percent of their gross domestic product on defence, with the United States accounting for three quarters of NATO defence spending.

Special arrangements

The three Nordic countries which joined NATO as founding members, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway, chose to limit their participation in three areas: there would be no permanent peacetime bases, no nuclear warheads and no Allied military activity (unless invited) permitted on their territory. However, Denmark allowed the U.S. Air Force to maintain an existing base, Thule Air Base, in Greenland.

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, France pursued a military strategy of independence from NATO under a policy dubbed "Gaullo-Mitterrandism". Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated the return of France to the integrated military command and the Defence Planning Committee in 2009, the latter being disbanded the following year. France remains the only NATO member outside the Nuclear Planning Group and unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, will not commit its nuclear-armed submarines to the alliance.

Enlargement

Accession to the alliance is governed with individual Membership Action Plans, and requires approval by each current member. NATO currently has three candidate countries that are in the process of joining the alliance: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, and Sweden. North Macedonia is the most recent state to sign an accession protocol to become a NATO member state, which it did in February 2019 and became a member state on 27 March 2020. Its accession had been blocked by Greece for many years due to the Macedonia naming dispute, which was resolved in 2018 by the Prespa agreement. In order to support each other in the process, new and potential members in the region formed the Adriatic Charter in 2003. Georgia was also named as an aspiring member, and was promised "future membership" during the 2008 summit in Bucharest, though in 2014, US President Barack Obama said the country was not "currently on a path" to membership.

Ukraine's relationship with NATO and Europe has been politically controversial, and improvement of these relations was one of the goals of the " Euromaidan" protests that saw the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. Ukraine is one of eight countries in Eastern Europe with an Individual Partnership Action Plan. IPAPs began in 2002, and are open to countries that have the political will and ability to deepen their relationship with NATO. On 21 February 2019, the Constitution of Ukraine was amended, the norms on the strategic course of Ukraine for membership in the European Union and NATO are enshrined in the preamble of the Basic Law, three articles and transitional provisions. At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy course without outside interference. On 30 November 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that an expansion of NATO's presence in Ukraine, especially the deployment of any long-range missiles capable of striking Russian cities or missile defence systems similar to those in Romania and Poland, would be a "red line" issue for Russia. Putin asked U.S. President Joe Biden for legal guarantees that NATO would not expand eastward or put "weapons systems that threaten us in close vicinity to Russian territory." NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg replied that "It's only Ukraine and 30 NATO allies that decide when Ukraine is ready to join NATO. Russia has no veto, Russia has no say, and Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence to try to control their neighbors."

Russia continued to politically oppose further expansion, seeing it as inconsistent with informal understandings between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and European and US negotiators that allowed for a peaceful German reunification. NATO's expansion efforts are often seen by Moscow leaders as a continuation of a Cold War attempt to surround and isolate Russia, though they have also been criticized in the West. A June 2016 Levada poll found that 68 percent of Russians think that deploying NATO troops in the Baltic states and Poland - former Eastern bloc countries bordering Russia - is a threat to Russia. In contrast, 65 percent of Poles surveyed in a 2017 Pew Research Center report identified Russia as a "major threat", with an average of 31 percent saying so across all NATO countries, and 67 percent of Poles surveyed in 2018 favour US forces being based in Poland. Of non- CIS Eastern European countries surveyed by Gallup in 2016, all but Serbia and Montenegro were more likely than not to view NATO as a protective alliance rather than a threat. A 2006 study in the journal Security Studies argued that NATO enlargement contributed to democratic consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe. China also opposes further expansion.

Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, public opinion in Finland and in Sweden swung sharply in favor of joining NATO, with more citizens supporting NATO membership than those who were opposed to it for the first time. A poll on 30 March 2022 revealed that about 61% of Finns were in favor of NATO membership, as opposed to 16% against and 23% uncertain. A poll on 1 April revealed that about 51% of Swedes were in favor of NATO membership, as opposed to 27% against. In mid-April, the governments of Finland and Sweden began exploring NATO membership, with their governments commissioning security reports on this subject. The addition of the two Nordic countries would significantly expand NATO's capabilities in the Arctic, Nordic, and Baltic regions.

On 15 May 2022, the Finnish government announced that it would apply for NATO membership, subject to approval by the country's parliament, which voted 188-8 in favor of the move on 17 May. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced her country would apply for NATO membership on 17 May, and both Finland and Sweden formally submitted applications for NATO membership on 18 May. Turkey voiced opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, accusing the two countries of providing support to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Defense Units (YPG), two Kurdish groups which Turkey has designated as terrorist organizations. On 28 June, at a NATO summit in Madrid, Turkey agreed to support the membership bids of Finland and Sweden. On 5 July, the 30 NATO ambassadors signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland and formally approved the decisions of the NATO summit on 28 June. This must be ratified by the various governments; all countries except Hungary and Turkey had ratified it in 2022.

NATO Defense Expenditure Budget

The increase in the number of NATO members over the years hasn't been sustained by an increase in the defense expenditures. Being concerned about the decreasing defense budgets and aiming to improve financial equity commitments and boost the effectiveness of financial expenditure, NATO members met at the 2014 Wales Summit to establish the Defense Investment Pledge. Members considered it necessary to contribute at least 2% of their Gross Domestic Product ( GDP) to defense and 20% of their defense budget to major equipment which includes allocations to defense research and development by 2024.

The implementation of the Defense Investment Pledge is hindered by the lack of legal binding obligation by the members, European Union fiscal laws, member states' domestic public expenditure priorities, and political willingness. In 2021, eight member states achieved the goal of 2% GDP contribution to defense spending. In 2020, 18 NATO members were able to reach the target of 20% contribution to major equipment. The improvements in the compliance with the Wales recommendations are facilitated by the increasing risk to the security of the members posed by the Russian Federation.

Partnerships with third countries

The Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme was established in 1994 and is based on individual bilateral relations between each partner country and NATO: each country may choose the extent of its participation. Members include all current and former members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) was first established on 29 May 1997, and is a forum for regular coordination, consultation and dialogue between all fifty participants. The PfP programme is considered the operational wing of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership. Other third countries also have been contacted for participation in some activities of the PfP framework such as Afghanistan.

The European Union (EU) signed a comprehensive package of arrangements with NATO under the Berlin Plus agreement on 16 December 2002. With this agreement, the EU was given the possibility of using NATO assets in case it wanted to act independently in an international crisis, on the condition that NATO itself did not want to act - the so-called " right of first refusal". For example, Article 42(7) of the 1982 Treaty of Lisbon specifies that "If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power". The treaty applies globally to specified territories whereas NATO is restricted under its Article 6 to operations north of the Tropic of Cancer. It provides a "double framework" for the EU countries that are also linked with the PfP programme.

Additionally, NATO cooperates and discusses its activities with numerous other non-NATO members. The Mediterranean Dialogue was established in 1994 to coordinate in a similar way with Israel and countries in North Africa. The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was announced in 2004 as a dialogue forum for the Middle East along the same lines as the Mediterranean Dialogue. The four participants are also linked through the Gulf Cooperation Council. In June 2018, Qatar expressed its wish to join NATO. However, NATO declined membership, stating that only additional European countries could join according to Article 10 of NATO's founding treaty. Qatar and NATO have previously signed a security agreement together in January 2018.

Political dialogue with Japan began in 1990, and since then, the Alliance has gradually increased its contact with countries that do not form part of any of these cooperation initiatives. In 1998, NATO established a set of general guidelines that do not allow for a formal institutionalization of relations, but reflect the Allies' desire to increase cooperation. Following extensive debate, the term "Contact Countries" was agreed by the Allies in 2000. By 2012, the Alliance had broadened this group, which meets to discuss issues such as counter-piracy and technology exchange, under the names "partners across the globe" or "global partners". Australia and New Zealand, both contact countries, are also members of the AUSCANNZUKUS strategic alliance, and similar regional or bilateral agreements between contact countries and NATO members also aid cooperation. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO needs to "address the rise of China," by closely cooperating with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. Colombia is NATO's latest partner and Colombia has access to the full range of cooperative activities NATO offers to partners; Colombia became the first and only Latin American country to cooperate with NATO.

All agencies and organizations of NATO are integrated into either the civilian administrative or military executive roles. For the most part they perform roles and functions that directly or indirectly support the security role of the alliance as a whole.

The civilian structure includes:

The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the body which has effective governance authority and powers of decision in NATO, consisting of member states' permanent representatives or representatives at higher level (ministers of foreign affairs or defence, or heads of state or government). The NAC convenes at least once a week and takes major decisions regarding NATO's policies. The meetings of the North Atlantic Council are chaired by the secretary general and, when decisions have to be made, action is agreed upon by consensus. There is no voting or decision by majority. Each state represented at the Council table or on any of its subordinate committees retains complete sovereignty and responsibility for its own decisions.[citation needed ]

NATO Headquarters, located on Boulevard Léopold III/Leopold III-laan, B-1110 Brussels, which is in the City of Brussels municipality. The staff at the Headquarters is composed of national delegations of member countries and includes civilian and military liaison offices and officers or diplomatic missions and diplomats of partner countries, as well as the International Staff and International Military Staff filled from serving members of the armed forces of member states. Non-governmental groups have also grown up in support of NATO, broadly under the banner of the Atlantic Council/Atlantic Treaty Association movement.

The military structure includes:

The Military Committee (MC) is the body of NATO that is composed of member states' Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) and advises the North Atlantic Council (NAC) on military policy and strategy. The national CHODs are regularly represented in the MC by their permanent Military Representatives (MilRep), who often are two- or three-star flag officers. Like the council, from time to time the Military Committee also meets at a higher level, namely at the level of Chiefs of Defence, the most senior military officer in each country's armed forces. The MC is led by its chairman, who directs NATO's military operations.[citation needed ] Until 2008 the Military Committee excluded France, due to that country's 1966 decision to remove itself from the NATO Military Command Structure, which it rejoined in 1995. Until France rejoined NATO, it was not represented on the Defence Planning Committee, and this led to conflicts between it and NATO members. Such was the case in the lead up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. The operational work of the committee is supported by the International Military Staff

Allied Command Operations (ACO) is the NATO command responsible for NATO operations worldwide.

Allied Command Transformation (ACT), responsible for transformation and training of NATO forces.

The organizations and agencies of NATO include:

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) is a body that sets broad strategic goals for NATO, which meets at two session per year. NATO PA interacts directly with the parliamentary structures of the national governments of the member states which appoint Permanent Members, or ambassadors to NATO. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is made up of legislators from the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance as well as thirteen associate members. It is however officially a structure different from NATO, and has as aim to join deputies of NATO countries in order to discuss security policies on the NATO Council.

Legal authority of NATO commanders

NATO is an alliance of 30 sovereign states and their individual sovereignty is unaffected by participation in the alliance. NATO has no parliaments, no laws, no enforcement, and no power to punish individual citizens. As a consequence of this lack of sovereignty the power and authority of a NATO commander are limited. NATO commanders cannot punish offences such as failure to obey a lawful order; dereliction of duty; or disrespect to a senior officer. NATO commanders expect obeisance but sometimes need to subordinate their desires or plans to the operators who are themselves subject to sovereign codes of conduct like the UCMJ. A case in point was the clash between General Sir Mike Jackson and General Wesley Clark over KFOR actions at Pristina Airport.

NATO commanders can issue orders to their subordinate commanders in the form of operational plans (OPLANs), operational orders (OPORDERs), tactical direction, or fragmental orders (FRAGOs) and others. The joint rules of engagement must be followed, and the Law of Armed Conflict must be obeyed at all times. Operational resources "remain under national command but have been transferred temporarily to NATO. Although these national units, through the formal process of transfer of authority, have been placed under the operational command and control of a NATO commander, they never lose their national character." Senior national representatives, like CDS, "are designated as so-called red-cardholders". Caveats are restrictions listed "nation by nation... that NATO Commanders... must take into account."

Similar organizations

References

1. "English and French shall be the official languages for the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization". ^ Final Communiqué following the meeting of the North Atlantic Council on 17 September 1949 Archived 6 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine. "... the English and French texts [of the Treaty] are equally authentic ..." The North Atlantic Treaty, Article 14 Archived 14 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine

2. ^ Erlanger, Steven (26 March 2014). "Europe Begins to Rethink Cuts to Military Spending". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Last year, only a handful of NATO countries met the target, according to NATO figures, including the United States, at 4.1 percent, and Britain, at 2.4 percent.

3. ^ Findley, Paul (2011). Speaking Out: A Congressman's Lifelong Fight Against Bigotry, Famine, and War - Paul Findley - Google Books. ISBN 9781569768914.

4. ^ The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography: An International Reference Work - Google Books. McGraw-Hill. 1973. ISBN 9780070796331.

5. ^ Eichler, Jan (2021). NATO's Expansion After the Cold War: Geopolitics and Impacts for International Security. Springer Nature. pp. 34, 35. ISBN 9783030666415.

6. ^ Jing Ke (2008). "Did the US Media Reflect the Reality of the Kosovo War in an Objective Manner? A Case Study of The Washington Post and The Washington Times" (PDF). University of Rhode Island. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2019.

7. ^ Techau, Jan (2 September 2015). "The Politics of 2 Percent: NATO and the Security Vacuum in Europe". Carnegie Europe. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. A month before [the alliance's summit in Riga in 2006], Victoria Nuland, then the U.S. ambassador to NATO, called the 2 percent metric the "unofficial floor" on defence spending in NATO. But never had all governments of NATO's 28 nations officially embraced it at the highest possible political level - a summit declaration.

8. ^ "NATO BOOSTS FORCES IN EAST TO DETER RUSSIAN MENACE". BIRN. Balkan Insight. Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. 14 June 2022.

9. ^ Münch, Philipp (2021). "Creating common sense: Getting NATO to Afghanistan". Journal of Transatlantic Studies. 19 (2): 138-166. doi:10.1057/s42738-021-00067-0.

10. David P. Auerswald, and Stephen M. Saideman, eds. ^ NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone (Princeton U.P., 2014)

11. ^ Rasmussen, Sune Engel (28 December 2014). "Nato ends combat operations in Afghanistan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015.

12. ^ "NATO reaches deal to take over Libya operation; allied planes hit ground forces". Washington Post. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013.

13. ^ "Danish Planes in Libya Running Out of Bombs: Report", Defense News. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011

14. ^ "NATO: Ongoing resistance by pro-Gadhafi forces in Libya is 'surprising'". The Washington Post. UPI. 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013.

15. ^ "Greece 'vetoes NATO statement' on support for Turkey amid Syria escalation". 29 February 2020. The Russian military later explained that the Syrian army targeted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists operating in the province, adding that Syrian government forces were not informed about the Turkish presence in the area.

16. ^ George J, Teigen JM (2008). "NATO Enlargement and Institution Building: Military Personnel Policy Challenges in the Post-Soviet Context". European Security. 17 (2): 346. doi:10.1080/09662830802642512. S2CID 153420615.

17. ^ "NATO chief: "Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence"". Axios. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022.

18. ^ Epstein, Rachel (2006). "Nato Enlargement and the Spread of Democracy: Evidence and Expectations". Security Studies. 14: 63. doi:10.1080/09636410591002509. S2CID 143878355.

19. ^ "Turkey clears way for Finland, Sweden to join NATO - Stoltenberg". . 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022.

20. ^ "NATO: Finland and Sweden poised to join NATO after Turkey drops objection". . 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022.

21. ^ Alozious, Juuko (19 May 2022). "NATO's Two Percent Guideline: A Demand for Military Expenditure Perspective". Defence and Peace Economics. 33 (4): 475-488. doi:10.1080/10242694.2021.1940649. ISSN 1024-2694. S2CID 237888569.

22. ^ Alozious, Juuko (19 May 2022). "NATO's Two Percent Guideline: A Demand for Military Expenditure Perspective". Defence and Peace Economics. 33 (4): 475-488. doi:10.1080/10242694.2021.1940649. ISSN 1024-2694. S2CID 237888569.

23. ^ "NATO Topics:NATO's relations with Contact Countries". www.nato.int. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013.

24. ^ "NATO PARTNERSHIPS: DOD Needs to Assess U.S. Assistance in Response to Changes to the Partnership for Peace Program" (PDF). United States Government Accountability Office. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2013.

25. ^ Fuller, Thomas (18 February 2003). "Reaching accord, EU warns Saddam of his 'last chance'". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007.

26. Randall, Thomas E. (July 2014). "Legal Authority of NATO Commanders" (PDF). NATO Legal Gazette (34): 39-45. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2021.

27. ^ Jackson, General Sir Mike (4 September 2007). "Gen Sir Mike Jackson: My clash with Nato chief". Telegraph Media Group Limited. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022.

Works cited

Further reading

Atlantic Council of the United States (August 2003). "Transforming the NATO Military Command Structure: A New Framework for Managing the Alliance's Future" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2012.

Axelrod, Robert, and Silvia Borzutzky. "NATO and the war on terror: The organizational challenges of the post 9/11 world." Review of International Organizations 1.3 (2006): 293-307. online

Borawski, John, and Thomas-Durell Young. NATO after 2000: the future of the Euro-Atlantic Alliance (Greenwood, 2001).

Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay (1954). "NATO: The First Five Years". Paris: NATO.

Hendrickson, Ryan C. "NATO's next secretary general: Rasmussen's leadership legacy for Jens Stoltenberg." Journal of Transatlantic Studies (2016) 15#3 pp 237-251.

Pedlow, Dr Gregory W. "Evolution of NATO's Command Structure 1951-2009" (PDF). aco.nato.int. Brussels(?): NATO ACO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011.

Sayle, Timothy Andrews. Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order (Cornell University Press, 2019) online review

"NATO at 70: Balancing Collective Defense and Collective Security," Special issue of Journal of Transatlantic Studies 17#2 (June 2019) pp: 135-267.

NATO Office of Information and Press, NATO Handbook : Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, NATO, Brussels, 1998-99, Second Reprint, ISBN 92-845-0134-2

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO, ; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states - 28 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949.

# data[].attributes.body
Iron Curtain – Named by Winston Churchill. This is the metaphorical demarcation between communism and democracy in Europe.
铁幕 – 温斯顿·丘吉尔提出的概念，用以描述欧洲共产主义与民主主义之间的象征性分界线。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
History Brief: What was the Iron Curtain?

# data[].attributes.body
Warsaw Pact – Military alliance between countries in Eastern Europe and the USSR.
华沙条约组织 – 由东欧国家和苏联组成的军事联盟。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
华沙条约组织 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
华沙公约组织（俄语：Организация Варшавского Договора），简称华约组织或华约，正式名称为友好合作互助条约组织（Договор о дружбе, сотрудничестве и взаимной помощи）[1]，是为对抗西方资本主义阵营北大西洋公约组织势力而成立的社会主义国家政治军事同盟。

# data[].attributes.body
Theory that communism must be prevented from spreading to other countries and that the USA must use military force to stop it if necessary.
遏制理论 – 认为必须防止共产主义向其他国家蔓延，如果有必要，美国必须使用军事力量加以制止。

# data[].attributes.body
Belief that if one country becomes Communist, its neighbors would also become communist.
多米诺理论 – 认为如果一个国家变成共产主义，其邻国也会跟着变成共产主义

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Drawn History: What is Domino Theory? | History

# data[].attributes.body
Theory that if one country uses nuclear weapons, other countries will use them as well, effectively ending the world as we know it.
相互确保毁灭 – 理论认为，如果一个国家使用核武器，其他国家也会使用，从而有效地结束现有世界的秩序。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mutually Assured Destruction - Nuclear Fallout

# data[].attributes.body
Significantly more powerful than past weapons. First used in Hiroshima.
原子弹 – 比过去的武器强大得多。首次在广岛使用。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
广岛与长崎原子弹爆炸

第二次世界大战太平洋战争 的一部分

地点

大日本帝国广岛市与 长崎市

作战单位

日期

1945年8月6日、1945年8月9日

伤亡人数

广岛：

70,000-126,000名平民死亡

20,000名士兵死亡

12名盟军战俘死亡

长崎：

60,000-80,000名平民死亡

150名士兵死亡

8-13名盟军战俘死亡

盟军在空袭日本多个月后，准备进行 没落行动以进攻 日本本土。虽然 二战欧洲战场于1945年5月8日 德国投降后结束，但作为二战亚洲战场的 太平洋战争仍在进行。1945年7月26日，中、美、英三国发表《 波茨坦公告 》要求日本无条件投降，但日本政府对此并未表明态度。美国考虑到倘若强行登陆日本，可能会导致巨大的人员伤亡，以及苏联可能会从日本北部登陆而导致日本分裂，于是计划采用曼哈顿计划中成功制造的核武器，并分别于8月6日及9日在广岛与长崎投下原子弹。广岛约有90,000人－166,000人因核爆而死亡，长崎则有60,000人－80,000人死亡。有中国大陆、台湾、东南亚、美国、德国、俄罗斯等地侨民在原子弹爆炸事件中伤亡。

长崎遭受核弹轰炸后6天，也就是1945年8月15日，日本宣布无条件投降，并于1945年9月2日签署《 降伏文书》，象征着第二次世界大战正式结束。影响所及导致日本政府于1967年宣布 非核三原则 ，声明其不拥有、不生产、不引进核武器。

太平洋战争到了1945年仍在持续当中，美军遭受到惨重的伤亡。从1944年6月至1945年6月间，大量美军战死，其中1944年12月达到最高峰，当月伤亡人数达到88,000人，尤其是在欧洲西线战场尾声的 突出部之役头几天中，美军受到 德军 突然的反击而损失惨重。

美军在这期间亦参与了 马里亚纳群岛及帕劳战事、 菲律宾战役与 婆罗洲战役， 布干维尔岛战役及 艾塔佩－韦瓦克战役则一直持续到1945年8月份为止。盟军在1945年4月展开 冲绳岛战役 ，此战役是第二次世界大战太平洋战争中伤亡人数最多的战役，一直到6月份才结束。在这段期间，盟军与日军的死亡比率从菲律宾战役的1比5上升到冲绳岛战役的1比2。

一张反日海报，描述1942年发生于菲律宾的巴丹死亡行军

德国在1945年5月8日 投降之前，盟军就已经计划进行没落行动，准备进攻日本本土。没落行动包含两个部分，分别是奥林匹克行动及小王冠行动，首先以奥林匹克行动攻占南九州，确保空军基地，随后由九州为小王冠行动提供空中支援，预计于1945年10月展开。奥林匹克行动的目标是进攻日本列岛的最南部地区- 九州。小王冠行动的预定在1946年3月开始，美国陆军第一军将从 房总半岛登陆，第八军的进攻地点则是 相模湾的 平冢市。两军登陆后分别北上，最终在 东京 会师。盟军将会调派欧洲军队支援。

美国陆军的海报，描述美国在撃败德国和意大利后准备进攻日本本土。

从 日本地理上来看，日本列岛几乎没什么适合登陆的沙滩，所以作战计划的制定十分困难，仅有的可登陆地点位于九州南部和本州岛 关东平原南部，情况对日本军队明显有利。日本军队提出 决号作战防御计划，全力防守九州，1945年3月并从驻扎在 满洲的 关东军调派4个师支援。日本当时拥有45个师可以运用，大部分都以防卫海岸线为目的，无法随意移动，但其中16个师则有高度的机动性。日本陆军共有230万名军人、400万名 海军与陆军后备人员及2,800万名 国民义勇战斗队准备防卫日本本土。进攻日本本土作战估计的死伤人数不尽相同，但是数目都相当巨大。 大日本帝国海军军令部海军中将大西泷治郎 预计日本死亡人数将会达到2,000万人。

1945年6月15日，联合战争委员会一份送至 参谋长联席会议的研究报告显示奥林匹克行动将造成130,000至220,000名美军伤亡，死亡人数介于25,000至46,000之间。 美国陆军参谋长乔治·马歇尔与 五星上将道格拉斯·麦克阿瑟 后来在文件上签署，同意联合战争委员会估计的伤亡人数。

政治家昆西·莱特（Quincy Wright）与 物理学家威廉·肖克利估计盟军进攻日本本土将造成170万至400万名美军伤亡，死亡人数介于40万至80万之间。日军的伤亡人数则为500万至1,000万人之间。美军经由日本人建立的 军事情报 网精确得知日军的情报。

后来乔治·马歇尔开始考虑使用一种"可以明显且确实降低美军伤亡的"武器，所以盟军从 澳大利亚将 化学武器（包括 光气、 芥子毒气、 催泪弹及 氯化氰等）搬运到 吕宋，准备进行奥林匹克行动。五星上将道格拉斯·麦克阿瑟确定 化学部队 已经经过使用这些武器的训练。

美军B-29超级堡垒轰炸机飞越大阪上空

自从太平洋战争爆发后，美军开始空袭日本，但是效果十分有限。 B-29超级堡垒轰炸机在1944年开始服役，增加美军空袭的实力。盟军从1944年6月至1945年1月间实施 马特洪峰行动，目的以日本在 中国及 东南亚的基地来进行战略轰炸。马特洪峰行动的效果并不显著，主要受到机械问题、不良 天气 及后勤补给困难所致。

1944年11月马里亚纳群岛及帕劳战事结束后，美军在 马里亚纳群岛的 关岛、 塞班岛及 天宁岛等地修筑 机场，所以 B-29超级堡垒轰炸机可以从这里的空军基地空袭日本，造成日本平民大量死伤。1945年3月开始的 东京大轰炸造成8至10万人死亡，近41平方公里的地方被焚毁，摧毁267,000栋建筑物。东京大轰炸是人类历史上最具破坏性的非核武空袭，比第二次世界大战中任何一次军事行动造成的伤亡都还多。美军 飞机后来可以从 航空母舰及 琉球群岛 上空袭日本，准备替后来的奥林匹克行动铺路。

日军无法阻止美军空袭， 民事防护也不够充分。后来日军从1945年4月起停止拦截美军的轰炸机，准备保留实力来抵抗盟军进攻日本本土。到了1945年中，日军为了保存燃料，只能偶尔仓促的干扰B-29超级堡垒轰炸机进行单机侦察行动。日军到了6月份已经储备1,156,000桶 航空汽油 。

美国在 英国合金管计划（Tube Alloys）及 加拿大乔克河国家实验室（Chalk River Laboratories）的协助下， 曼哈顿计划在 美国陆军工程兵团莱斯利·格罗夫斯（Leslie Groves） 少将的领导下展开，准备制造史上第一颗原子弹。曼哈顿计划当初是为了对抗1939年启动的 德国核能研究 而展开，德国在1945年5月投降后，攻击目标变更为日本。

曼哈顿计划在 洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室主任 罗伯特·奥本海默的指挥下，终于成功研发出两种原子弹。其中一种采用枪式设计，使用 铀-235来引发核子连锁反应，例如投掷在广岛的小男孩原子弹。而另一种则为内爆式钚弹，使用 雷管引爆中央的球形钚，例如 新墨西哥州索科罗于1945年7月16日完成的 三位一体核试 ，和投掷在长崎的胖子原子弹。

509混合部队于1944年12月9日成立，1944年12月17日在 犹他州温多弗空军基地（Wendover Air Force Base）正式运作，指挥官为 保罗·蒂贝茨上校。蒂贝茨上校组织和指挥 轰炸大队，发展核子武器准备使用在德国与日本上。因为该组飞行中队由轰炸机及 运输机 组成，所以该组织被称为"混合"单位，而不是"轰炸"单位。

蒂贝茨上校也参与 新墨西哥州洛斯阿拉莫斯罗沙拉摩尔斯实验室的曼哈顿计划，他选择在温多弗建立训练基地，并非 堪萨斯州的 大本德及 爱达荷州的 芒廷霍姆，主要因为它的位置相当偏僻。1944年9月10日，一架B-29超级堡垒轰炸机从 内布拉斯加州费尔蒙特空军基地（Fairmont Army Air Base）的 504轰炸小组抵达温多弗的 393轰炸中队。当其部署在马里亚纳群岛，在1944年11月上旬。该中队被直接受到 第二空军 管辖，直到509混合部队成立为止。320部队运输机中队因为其工作为高度机密，所以成为509混合部队的一部分。509混合部队需要运输工具来移动人员及物资，所以成立一个绰号"大黄蜂线"的特殊单位。

美国陆军参谋长乔治·马歇尔上将，要求阿拉莫斯提名具体的轰炸目标，并由他本人和 美国战争部长亨利·刘易斯·史汀生来批准。阿拉莫斯于是在1945年4月成立一个目标选定委员会，由他本人主持，成员包括他的副手 托马斯·法雷尔（Thomas Farrell）准将、约翰·A·德里上校、威廉·P·费希尔、乔伊斯·C·贝尔斯登与美国空军 大卫·M·丹尼森和曼哈顿计划 科学家约翰·冯·诺伊曼、 罗伯特·威尔逊和 威廉·C·彭尼（William Penney）等人组成。目标选定委员会于4月27日集合，并在5月10日于洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室与科学家和技术人员讨论。最后目标选定委员会在5月28日于 华盛顿举行，由保罗·蒂贝茨上校以及指挥官弗 雷德里克·L·阿什沃思（Frederick Lincoln "Dick" Ashworth）、曼哈顿计划的科学顾问 理查德·C·托尔曼 （Richard C. Tolman）进行简报。

目标的选择应符合以下标准：

目标直径超过3英里（4.8公里），是一个都会区的重要目标。

爆炸会造成有效的伤害。

目标直到1945年8月之前都未遭到空袭。"任何一个小型和严格的军事目标应位于一个容易受到爆炸破坏的大区域，避免不必要的风险。 "

1. 京都市：AA级目标

2. 广岛市：AA级目标

3. 横滨市：A级目标

4. 小仓市（今属北九州市）：A级目标

1945年5月28日举行的第3次目标选定委员会将 新潟市加入目标中。 小仓是日本最大的军火工厂之一； 广岛是运输港口和工业中心，也是主要军事总部所在地； 新潟是工业设备中心，拥有 钢铁及 铝工厂与 炼油厂； 京都 则是重要工业中心。

这些城市基本上在夜间轰炸中被略过，陆军航空部队同意避开这些目标，由此可以准确的评估武器效果。美国认为广岛为"一个重要的军事油库，也是广大工业区的港口，是一个很好的目标。因为它的城市规模相当大，核武器可以造成广泛的破坏。因为广岛附近与山丘相邻，可能产生聚焦效应，这将大幅提高爆炸的破坏性。由于广岛附近有 河流穿过，所以它不是一个良好的 燃烧弹攻击目标" 。美国在投掷核武器前曾在日本35个城市（包括广岛及长崎）散发传单警告平民空袭行动， 美国之音及 英国广播公司 也有提出相关讯息。横滨后来在5月29日遭到空袭，因而被排除在原子弹轰炸目标外。

美国投掷原子弹的目标是说服日本按照 波茨坦宣言宣布 无条件投降。目标选定委员会指出"心理因素在选择目标时一致受到重视，包括两个方面：（1）对日本造成最大的心理影响（2）在国际上进行宣传时，初次使用的武器必须造成壮观的破坏。京都因为是重要的军火工业及文化中心，比其他目标更有优势去彰显核武器的重要性。东京的 皇居 比任何其他的目标具有更大的名气，但是战略价值不大"。京都在1945年6月14日被排除在原子弹轰炸目标外，但是对京都的常规轰炸禁令仍然有效。

其他人曾误解 美国陆军情报侦查部的日本专家 赖世和 阻止美军轰炸京都。赖世和在他的自传中特别驳斥了这一种说法：

......唯一一个阻止美军轰炸京都的人是当时的美国战争部长 史汀生 ，他在几十年前曾在此蜜月，所以了解并仰慕京都。

美国总统杜鲁门及英国首相温斯顿·丘吉尔参加1945年7月举行的波茨坦会议

7月26日，盟军领导人发表 波茨坦宣言，提出日本投降条款。波茨坦宣言被视为 最后通牒，并表示日本如果不肯投降，盟军将进攻日本本土，造成"日本军队不可避免且彻底的毁灭，日本本土一样无法避免遭到彻底破坏"。原子弹在公报中没有提及。日本 报纸在7月28日报导该声明已遭到日本政府拒绝。 首相铃木贯太郎这天下午于新闻发布会上宣布，波茨坦宣言是老调重弹，与 开罗宣言没有两样，政府将故意忽视它。日本和外国报纸认为该声明明确拒绝接受波茨坦宣言。 裕仁天皇正等待 苏联 对日本进行不表态的答复，所以没有采取任何行动来改变政府的立场。

根据1943年的 魁北克协定，美国与 英国同意核武器不会未经双方同意就对其他国家使用。1945年6月 英国联合参谋团元帅 第一代威尔逊男爵亨利·梅特兰·威尔逊同意美国对日本使用核武器，并作为联合政策委员会的正式记录。 美国总统杜鲁门在 波茨坦请求 英国首相温斯顿·丘吉尔 代表英国同意美国向日本投下了原子弹。威廉·佩尼和伦纳·德柴抵达天宁岛，但是却发现柯蒂斯·李梅少将不让他们陪同。他们只能发送了一份措辞强烈的信号给威尔逊。

艾诺拉·盖伊号执行投掷小男孩原子弹的任务

广岛是日本重要的工业及军事中心，有一些军事设施就位于广岛附近，包含负责防御日本南部的畑俊六第二陆军总部。他可以指挥的军队约有400,000人，大部分驻防在盟军计划登陆的九州。同时 第59军的总部也位于广岛，刚成立的第224师大部分也在这里。广岛的对空防御系统包括以5个7-8厘米 高射炮 炮台。

市中心有几个 钢筋混凝土 建筑物及较松散的建筑物，市中心以外则是拥挤的日本木造房屋。几个较大的工厂位在靠近城市的郊区，屋顶由木材建造而成，许多木造房屋分布在工业建筑周围。所以广岛很容易受到火灾破坏。

广岛是美军在8月6日第一次原子弹轰炸任务的主要目标，替代目标则是小仓和长崎。393d轰炸中队的B-29 艾诺拉·盖伊号从天宁岛 北田空军基地起飞，飞行时间约6个小时。艾诺拉·盖伊号与 查尔斯·W·斯威尼少校指挥的科学观测机 大艺术家号及乔治·马夸特上尉的摄影观测机（当时是无名飞机，后来称为 必要之恶号 ）一同前往日本广岛。

艾诺拉·盖伊号离开天宁岛后，与另外两架飞机在 硫磺岛 上空2,440米（8,010英尺）会合，前往日本。飞机抵达广岛上空时高度为9,855米（32,333英尺），目标清晰可见。帕森斯指挥这次任务，他在飞行中固定好原子弹，尽量减少风险。他的助手托马斯陆军少校，在到达目标区域30分钟前进入飞机弹舱，解除安全装置。

大约在美军投掷原子弹一个小时之前，日本的早期预警 雷达 侦测到一些美国飞机接近日本南部。许多城市发布空袭警报，包括广岛。在接近早上8点的时候，广岛的雷达操作员决定解除空袭警报，认为未来接近广岛的飞机并不多，可能不会超过三架。为了节省燃料及飞机，日本已经决定不拦截小飞机编队。广岛的防空炮台仍在警备状态，但是因为高射炮会造成地面上的伤亡与严重的间接伤害，所有战争中的交战国高射炮炮手通常会避免射击少量的飞机，特别是驻扎在人口众多的市中心或附近。

上午8时9分，艾诺拉·盖伊号的机组人员看到广岛市。上午8时10分，日本雷达捕捉到了B-29侵入广岛市上空的消息。几分钟后，广岛市军管区司令部打算发出空袭警报，但是艾诺拉·盖伊号已经飞到了广岛市上空，高度超过32,200英尺（9,000米）。

艾诺拉·盖伊号在上午8时15分投下原子弹，目标是广岛中央太田川上的T字型大桥 相生桥，当时飞机高度是31,600英尺（9,700米）。同时飞机立刻改回手动操纵，转个155度角的弯。原子弹在进行43秒的 平抛运动 后爆炸，艾诺拉·盖伊号在受到爆炸的冲击波影响前已经移动了11.5英里（18.5公里）。

由于侧风的缘故，原子弹偏离瞄准点相生桥约800英尺（240米），在上空600米处引爆。它的 爆炸当量为16 ,000吨 TNT炸药（67兆 焦耳）（U-235制成的武器效率很低，裂变材料只有1.7％）。总破坏半径约1.6公里，11平方公里内发生 火灾 。美国人估计约有4.7平方英里（12平方公里）的市区被摧毁。日本官员确定69％的建筑物遭到摧毁，6-7％的建筑物受损。

约30％的人口（70,000-80,000人）在原子弹爆炸及产生的暴风中丧生，另外有70,000人受伤。广岛超过90％的医生和93％的护士死亡或受伤，市区受到的伤害最大。

日本放送协会在东京的控制操作员注意到广岛站已经停止广播，他试图用另一条电话线重新建立讯号，但是没有成功 。大约20分钟后，东京铁路电报中心发现电报已停止工作的地区只限于广岛北部。从城市16公里（9.9英里）内的一些小型铁路站传来非官方且混乱的报告，显示广岛发生了一次可怕的爆炸。这些报告全部送至 大日本帝国陆军参谋总部 。

军事基地多次试图联络广岛的陆军管制站，但是没有收到任何回应。参谋总部的军官感到疑惑，因为根据他们的了解，当时日本并未发生大规模空袭，广岛也没有储存如此大量的弹药。日本参谋总部的一个年轻军官奉命立即飞往广岛，准备调查当地遭受的损害后返回东京，以便从当地的军民得到可信的资讯。参谋总部的军官普遍认为爆炸并不严重，并只是一个谣言。

年轻军官随后前往广岛。在飞行大约三个小时后，当时距离广岛仍有将近160公里，他和飞行员看到一个因爆炸而产生的巨大云气。广岛军民的遗体正在焚烧。当飞机到达市区上空后，他们的心中充满疑问。他们看到城市仍在燃烧，厚重的烟雾云覆盖整个地区。他们降落在城市的南部，该军官向东京汇报后，立即开始组织救援行动。后来日本派出了物理学家 仁科芳雄 到现场调查，确认了遭到原子弹攻击。

1945年8月8日，美国报章报导，东京广播电台的广播描述广岛的破坏。盟军听到日本电台广播员说"几乎所有活的东西，包括 人类和 动物 都被烧死"。

美军轰炸广岛后， 美国总统 杜鲁门发表声明，宣布使用新型武器的消息。他说"我们可以感谢神的保佑"，德国的原子弹计划失败，美国及其盟国"花费20亿美元来进行史上最伟大的科学赌博并获胜。" 杜鲁门然后警告日本：

如果他们不接受我们的条款，他们可能会预料到空中降下毁灭性的暴雨，这种景象从未在地球上见证过。海上和地面部队将跟随在空袭后面，他们还没有看过这样的数量和能量，而他们已经清楚地了解到我们的战斗能力。

日本政府仍然没有对波茨坦宣言作出任何回应。裕仁天皇、政府和战争委员会当时正在考虑投降的四个条件：

苏联外长 维亚切斯拉夫·米哈伊洛维奇·莫洛托夫通知东京，表示苏联已单方面废除4月5日签订的 苏日中立条约。 东京时间8月9日午夜，苏联步兵、装甲兵、空军部队进行满洲的战略攻击行动。四个小时后，东京得知苏联对日宣战。日军高层领导在获得 陆军大臣阿南惟几支持下开始准备实行 戒严 ，阻止任何人企图谈和。

博克斯卡号及其机组人员，他们在长崎投下胖子原子弹

长崎一直是日本南部最大的 海港 之一，因为拥有蓬勃的工业活动（包括兵器、船舶、军事装备和其他军用物资制造），其重要性在战争时期很高。

长崎跟现代化的广岛很不一样，几乎所有的建筑都是老式的日本建筑，由木造建筑与木造墙壁（或石膏）、屋瓦所组成。许多小型的工业与商业机构也在木造或其他不能承受爆炸的材料所构成的建筑物中。长崎长久以来没有任何明确的都市分区规划，住宅与工厂毗邻，整个山谷几乎都布满工业设施。

在核武器的爆炸之前，长崎从未遭受到大规模空袭。然而一些常规高爆的炸弹在1945年8月1日被投入城市中。有些击中西南边的船厂和码头区，几个命中军事工厂与 三菱钢铁厂；六枚炸弹落在 长崎大学和 医院 ，三枚直接命中建筑物。虽然这些炸弹造成的破坏相对较小，但是令当地人提高了警戒心，许多人（主要是学童）被疏散到较安全的农村，减少了城市的人口。长崎在8月初时拥有4个7厘米高射炮炮台和探照灯防空炮台。

长崎北方有一个 英联邦战俘营，其中有些人当时正在 煤坑 中工作，直到他们回到地面才发现长崎遭到轰炸。

保罗·蒂贝茨上校负责指挥第二次核攻击的作战计划，首要目标是 小仓市。后来为了避开从8月10日开始为期5天的恶劣天气，任务提前2天执行。当时第2枚原子弹已经运送至天宁岛。B-29 博克斯卡号（Bockscar）于8月9日早上装载胖子原子弹起飞，驾驶者为 查理·W·斯维尼 少校。空袭长崎的战术与广岛市原子弹爆炸时所采用的战术相同，博克斯卡号与另外两架B-29轰炸机（大刺针号与大艺术家号）空袭城市的上空。

首先到达小仓市的艾诺拉·盖伊号等待有薄雾的小仓市放晴，而到达长崎市的 喧龙号发现薄雾变浓。根据报告，云雾覆盖了两城约20%的上空。机队经过硫磺岛的上空，于上午7时45分到达 屋久岛上空的会合地点，斯维尼少校虽然成功与测量机体B-29 大艺术家号会合，但是摄影用机体B-29 大刺针号 因为错误地升上至12,000米的高空而偏离队伍，无法会合。40分钟之后，斯维尼少校在不得已的情况下与其余的机体编队继续作战。

他们在上午9时40分开始由 大分县姬岛进行高空轰炸，然后在9时44分到达炸弹空投目标：小仓陆军军营上空。但是高空轰炸人员 科米特·宾汉 （Kermit Beahan）陆军上尉无从循目视确认目标位置。后来他们试图利用较短的路径再次寻找机会，他们最后耗用了45分钟，失败了三次。

在他们轰炸小仓市三度失败之后，机体燃料所剩无几，而且当时小仓市的天气每况愈下，日军的高射炮正在对准他们进行激烈的对空攻击，他们也发现到日军紧急派出十架 零式战机 应战。于是他们在上午10时30分将目标转向次要目标：长崎市，并离开了小仓市的上空。

长崎在7时50分曾发布空袭警报，但是随后于8点30分解除。日军在10点53分观测到两架B-29轰炸机，但是研判为侦察行动，所以没有进一步发出警告。

大艺术家号机组人员在11时过后将3组带有降落伞的观测设备投下，里面包含一封未署名的信件，准备交给一位 东京大学的 物理学家嵯峨根辽吉，怂恿他向大众公开 大规模杀伤性武器 的危险性。这个讯息后来被军方发现，但是直到一个月后才交给他。其中一位作者路易斯·阿尔瓦雷茨在1949年与嵯峨根辽吉会面，并签署该文件。

高空轰炸人员迦米特·毗汉陆军上尉在11时1分在积云的空隙中窥探到长崎市的街道，胖子原子弹随后被投下。原子弹沿着 抛物线落下，在大约1分钟之后（即上午11时02分），在距离长崎市内城区中心以北三公里的别墅 网球场（松山町171区）上空503米处爆炸。长崎的中心区域由于与爆炸中心相距约三公里，而且有 金毘罗山等山脉遮蔽，因此除了不受遮蔽的湾岸地区以外，受损较轻微。爆炸产生的高温估计为3,900°C（7,050°F），引起每小时1,005公里（624英里）的 风 。爆炸当量相当于21,000吨的TNT炸药（88兆焦耳）。

估计有40,000到75,000人立即死亡 ，到了1945年底，总死亡人数可能已经达到80,000人。至少有8个战俘在轰炸中死亡，可能有高达13个战俘已经死亡，其中包括英联邦公民和7个荷兰战俘 。一个美国战俘Joe Kieyoomia当时正在长崎，但据说因受到牢房的混凝土墙所保护而幸免于难。原子弹彻底毁灭半径约1英里（1.6公里）内的地区，火灾从城市北部蔓延至2英里（3.2公里）外的南部。三菱浦上军械厂在爆炸中被摧毁，它制造的 九一式鱼雷曾用来 偷袭珍珠港 。小仓也有长崎钟及和平纪念碑。

格罗夫斯预计在8月19日使用第3颗原子弹，9月及10月则分别使用三个。在8月10日发给马歇尔的备忘录中，他写道："未来的原子弹......应该准备送到8月17日或18日后第一个天气合适的地点"。马歇尔在同一天赞同备忘录的意见："总统没有下达明确的命令前，这件事不通知日本。"

两个胖子原子弹已经待命，第三个 恶魔核心计划于8月12日离开 嘉德兰空军基地前往天宁岛，蒂贝茨奉 柯蒂斯·李梅少将的命令返回 犹他州来接收。洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室的 罗伯特·巴切尔 在打包恶魔核心时，从格罗夫斯收到暂停装运的讯息。

丹尼尔·麦戈文（Daniel A. McGovern）中尉与哈里·三村所拍摄的影像，显示1946年3月至4月间的广岛

丹尼尔·麦戈文（Daniel A. McGovern）中尉所拍摄的影像，显示1946年3月至4月间的广岛

美国制作的反映原子弹轰炸后果的纪录片

根据位于华盛顿的英国大使馆，美国舆论将日本人视为"无名的众多害虫" 。 讽刺画都将日本人描绘为比不上人类的生物，就像 猴子一样。1944年一次 民意调查 询问美国人应该如何对待日本人，结果发现13％的美国民众赞成"杀死"所有的日本人：包含男子、妇女和儿童。

原子弹爆炸的消息在美国获得热烈的回响，《 财富》杂志在1945年底进行的调查显示美国人希望更多的原子弹可以投掷在日本本土。向大众公开的轰炸影像（主要是蘑菇云）最初产生积极的回响，爆炸以及幸存者或尸体的照片则受到审核。 美国战略轰炸调查团的成员丹尼尔·麦戈文（Daniel A. McGovern）中尉曾使用 摄影机来记录爆炸结果。他完成三个小时的纪录片《原子弹爆炸对广岛与长崎的影响》，内容包括 医院中受伤的人、被烧毁的建筑和汽车及地上的 骨头。它在美国新闻界广泛流传，然后悄悄地被压制下来，所以从未公开播放过。它在未来的22年中被列为"最高机密"。美国在这段时间，电影、杂志和 报纸 一个共同编辑的方式为去除死亡的影像。截至2009年为止，丹尼尔·麦戈文中尉所拍摄的画面共有90,000英尺（27,000米）没有完全播放。

原子弹爆炸的图片在美国占领日本期间受到限制，虽然一些日本杂志曾在被盟军占领部队控制前发布过照片。盟军强制审查"任何可能直接或间接扰乱公共安宁"的事物，人类受伤的照片被视为发炎所致。一个可能的原因是，描绘烧伤的受害者和葬礼会像解放纳粹 集中营 所拍摄的图像广为流传。

日本前首相 鸠山一郎因在 朝日新闻发文将原子弹爆炸称为"违反战争法的战争犯罪"，并要求美国承担战争罪行而遭到 GHQ处以 公职追放 。朝日新闻也遭到GHQ勒令停刊48小时。

原子弹受害者调查委员会（ABCC，1946-1975）收集有关核弹对"被爆者"的医学影响的信息，但并未提供任何医疗照护、缓解或财务补偿，即使这些研究可能会持续整整一天，对于一个已经极度贫困的人群而言更是如此。尽管它并不属于占领当局，但它却是美国的一个情报收集工具。尽管有日本和美国医生参与该项目，但最终美国获得了所有的研究数据、研究、照片和标本（有时是未经家属同意的遗体部位），并且至今这些资料大多仍在美国。医生收集的信息在占领期间不被允许在日本发表或分享。这些包括"被爆者"的医学报告和尸检报告。大多数有关核弹人道后果的报告在美国和日本都被停顿。美国媒体还采用了宣传手段，来反驳医学研究结果，尤其是关于辐射影响的报导。日本医生虽然治疗并收集患者资料，创建档案，但这些报告随后被美国收集并不允许发表，至今在马里兰州国家档案馆中仍难以取得。一些人体标本和临床研究在美国保留至1973年5月，对"被爆者"的家属造成了困扰。

许多"被爆者"证实，他们在ABCC面前不得不裸露数小时，像实验品一样被拍照、拍影片并接受检查，展示严重的秃发，抽血和取样时没有任何支持。受害者描述了来自ABCC的骚扰，ABCC经常召唤他们进行检查，甚至在未获得家长同意（或即使家长抗议）的情况下从学校接走孩子。长时间被检查给"被爆者"带来了额外的困难，使他们难以找到工作，没有任何财务或食物补偿，而当时大多数"被爆者"都处于极端贫困之中。ABCC还进行了大量的尸检，每年达500次，取样和取出身体部位，通常没有获得家属同意，送往美国。这些尸检经常在死后立即进行，对家属造成极大困扰。生还者因此受到持续的骚扰，且没有任何报酬。死者，包括儿童，也被解剖。 大多数在核爆时存活的孕妇经历了流产，而幸存的婴儿则因为在子宫内受到强烈辐射暴露，出现小头畸形、心脏病、严重的智力发展迟缓和生长发展迟缓等问题。女性被告知这是由于压力和营养不良，这让她们对自己的处境感到自责。由于受到审查，医疗结果未被告知，她们直到后来才发现异常的真正原因。

没有可用的数据，就无法得出结论，也阻止了有关"被爆者"的任何出版物。由于报告的审查，没有日本人能够了解辐射的后果，导致那些仍然暴露于辐射中的人死亡。对于已故的"被爆者"，在未获得同意的情况下摘取其器官违反了家属的意愿，但对于生还者来说，他们的医疗记录，这些长期生还者需要用来证明自己是"被爆者"并获得适当医疗帮助的记录，却常常遗失。当医疗报告最终能够获取时，对于许多"被爆者"来说已经为时已晚。当"被爆者"获得日本国家提供的医疗援助时，他们需要提供文件来证明自己的身份。由于超过23000人死亡，包括临床报告、遗体部位等资料，这些资料直到1973年五月才被美国以机密防卫方式保存，许多"被爆者"因此难以证明自己的身份。

Allen, Louis. The Nuclear Raids Article. Hart, Basil Liddell (编). History of the Second World War Vol. 6. Purnell. 1969: 2566-2576.

Campbell, Richard H. The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. 2005. ISBN 0-7864-2139-8. OCLC 58554961 .

Craven, Wesley; Cate, James (编). The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki. The Army Air Forces in World War II. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. 1953 . OCLC 256469807 . （原始内容存档于2002-03-16）.

Feraru, Arthur N. Public Opinion Polls on Japan. Far Eastern Survey (Institute of Pacific Relations). 1950-05-17, 19 (10): 101-103. JSTOR 3023943 . doi:10.1525/as.1950.19.10.01p0599l .

Gruhl, Werner. Imperial Japan's World War II, 1931-1945. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. 2007 . ISBN 978-0-7658-0352-8. OCLC 76871604 .

Krauss, Robert; Krauss, Amelia. The 509th Remembered: A History of the 509th Composite Group as Told by the Veterans Themselves. Buchanan, Michigan: 509th Press. 2005. ISBN 0-923568-66-2. OCLC 59148135 .

Long, Gavin. The Final Campaigns (PDF). Australia in the War of 1939-1945. Canberra, ACT: Australian War Memorial. 1963 . （原始内容存档于2009-05-25）.

Moore, Mike. Troublesome Imagery. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science). 1995-07, 54 (4): 73-74.

Sandler, Stanley. World War II in the Pacific: an Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. 2001 . ISBN 0-8153-1883-9. OCLC 44769066 .

Walker, J. Samuel. Recent Literature on Truman's Atomic Bomb Decision: A Search for Middle Ground. Diplomatic History. April 2005, 29 (2): 311-334 . doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.2005.00476.x . （原始内容存档于2017-08-23）.

Zaloga, Steven J.; Noon, Steve. Defense of Japan 1945. Fortress. Oxford, England: Osprey Publishing. 2010. ISBN 1-84603-687-9. OCLC 503042143 .

There is an extensive body of literature concerning the bombings, the decision to use the bombs, and the surrender of Japan. The following sources provide a sampling of prominent works on this subject matter.

Hamai, Shinzo. A-Bomb Mayor: Warnings and Hope from Hiroshima. 2010.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
广岛与长崎原子弹爆炸 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
广岛与长崎原子弹爆炸 第二次世界大战 太平洋战争 的一部分 地点 大日本帝国 广岛市与 长崎市 作战单位 日期 1945年8月6日、1945年8月9日 伤亡人数 广岛： 70,000-126,000名平民死亡 20,000名士兵死亡 12名盟军战俘死亡 长崎： 60,000-80,000名平民死亡 150名士兵死亡 8-13名盟军战俘死亡 盟军在空袭日本多个月后，准备进行 没落行动以进攻 日本本土。虽然 二战欧洲战场于1945年5月8日 德国投降后结束，但作为二战亚洲战场的 太平洋战争仍在进行。1945年7月26日，中、美、英三国发表《 波茨坦公告 》要求日本无条件投降，但日本政府对此并未表明态度。美国考虑到倘若强行登陆日本，可能会导致巨大的人员伤亡，以及苏联可能会从日本北部登陆而导致日本分裂，于是计划采用曼哈顿计划中成功制造的核武器，并分别于8月6日及9日在广岛与长崎投下原子弹。广岛约有90,000人－166,000人因核爆而死亡，长崎则有60,000人－80,000人死亡。有中国大陆、台湾、东南亚、美国、德国、俄罗斯等地侨民在原子弹爆炸事件中伤亡。 长崎遭受核弹轰炸后6天，也就是1945年8月15日，日本宣布无条件投降，并于1945年9月2日签署《 降伏文书》，象征着第二次世界大战正式结束。影响所及导致日本政府于1967年宣布 非核三原则 ，声明其不拥有、不生产、不引进核武器。 太平洋战争到了1945年仍在持续当中，美军遭受到惨重的伤亡。从1944年6月至1945年6月间，大量美军战死，其中1944年12月达到最高峰，当月伤亡人数达到88,000人，尤其是在欧洲西线战场尾声的 突出部之役头几天中，美军受到 德军 突然的反击而损失惨重。 美军在这期间亦参与了 马里亚纳群岛及帕劳战事、 菲律宾战役与 婆罗洲战役， 布干维尔岛战役及 艾塔佩－韦瓦克战役则一直持续到1945年8月份为止。盟军在1945年4月展开 冲绳岛战役 ，此战役是第二次世界大战太平洋战争中伤亡人数最多的战役，一直到6月份才结束。在这段期间，盟军与日军的死亡比率从菲律宾战役的1比5上升到冲绳岛战役的1比2。 德国在1945年5月8日 投降之前，盟军就已经计划进行没落行动，准备进攻日本本土。没落行动包含两个部分，分别是奥林匹克行动及小王冠行动，首先以奥林匹克行动攻占南九州，确保空军基地，随后由九州为小王冠行动提供空中支援，预计于1945年10月展开。奥林匹克行动的目标是进攻日本列岛的最南部地区- 九州。小王冠行动的预定在1946年3月开始，美国陆军第一军将从 房总半岛登陆，第八军的进攻地点则是 相模湾的 平冢市。两军登陆后分别北上，最终在

# data[].attributes.body
Vastly more powerful than atomic bombs. Capable of destroying entire cities and permanently irradiating countries.
核武器 – 比原子弹强大得多，能够摧毁整个城市并永久辐射国家。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
An assortment of American nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Clockwise from top left: PGM-17 Thor, LGM-25C Titan II, HGM-25A Titan I, Thor-Agena, LGM-30G Minuteman III, LGM-118 Peacekeeper, LGM-30A/B/F Minuteman I or II, PGM-19 Jupiter

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter.

The first test of a fission ("atomic") bomb released an amount of energy approximately equal to 20,000 tons of TNT (84 TJ). The first thermonuclear ("hydrogen") bomb test released energy approximately equal to 10 million tons of TNT (42 PJ). Nuclear bombs have had yields between 10 tons TNT (the W54) and 50 megatons for the Tsar Bomba (see TNT equivalent). A thermonuclear weapon weighing as little as 600 pounds (270 kg) can release energy equal to more than 1.2 megatonnes of TNT (5.0 PJ).

A nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can devastate an entire city by blast, fire, and radiation. Since they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a focus of international relations policy. Nuclear weapons have been deployed twice in war, by the United States against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II.

Testing and deployment

Nuclear weapons have only twice been used in warfare, both times by the United States against Japan at the end of World War II. On August 6, 1945, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) detonated a uranium gun-type fission bomb nicknamed " Little Boy" over the Japanese city of Hiroshima; three days later, on August 9, the USAAF detonated a plutonium implosion-type fission bomb nicknamed " Fat Man" over the Japanese city of Nagasaki. These bombings caused injuries that resulted in the deaths of approximately 200,000 civilians and military personnel. The ethics of these bombings and their role in Japan's surrender are to this day, still subjects of debate.

Since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons have been detonated over 2,000 times for testing and demonstration. Only a few nations possess such weapons or are suspected of seeking them. The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons-and acknowledge possessing them-are (chronologically by date of first test) the United States, the Soviet Union (succeeded as a nuclear power by Russia), the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel is believed to possess nuclear weapons, though, in a policy of deliberate ambiguity, it does not acknowledge having them. Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Belarus are nuclear weapons sharing states. South Africa is the only country to have independently developed and then renounced and dismantled its nuclear weapons.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons aims to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons, but there are different views of its effectiveness.

The Trinity test of the Manhattan Project was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, which led J. Robert Oppenheimer to recall verses from the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita: "If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one "... "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds".

Robert Oppenheimer, principal leader of the Manhattan Project, often referred to as the "father of the atomic bomb".

There are two basic types of nuclear weapons: those that derive the majority of their energy from nuclear fission reactions alone, and those that use fission reactions to begin nuclear fusion reactions that produce a large amount of the total energy output.

Fission weapons

All existing nuclear weapons derive some of their explosive energy from nuclear fission reactions. Weapons whose explosive output is exclusively from fission reactions are commonly referred to as atomic bombs or atom bombs (abbreviated as A-bombs). This has long been noted as something of a misnomer, as their energy comes from the nucleus of the atom, just as it does with fusion weapons.

In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material ( enriched uranium or plutonium) is forced into supercriticality-allowing an exponential growth of nuclear chain reactions-either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another (the "gun" method) or by compression of a sub-critical sphere or cylinder of fissile material using chemically fueled explosive lenses. The latter approach, the "implosion" method, is more sophisticated and more efficient (smaller, less massive, and requiring less of the expensive fissile fuel) than the former.

A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is to ensure that a significant fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. The amount of energy released by fission bombs can range from the equivalent of just under a ton to upwards of 500,000 tons (500 kilotons) of TNT (4.2 to 2.1×10 ⁶ GJ).

All fission reactions generate fission products, the remains of the split atomic nuclei. Many fission products are either highly radioactive (but short-lived) or moderately radioactive (but long-lived), and as such, they are a serious form of radioactive contamination. Fission products are the principal radioactive component of nuclear fallout. Another source of radioactivity is the burst of free neutrons produced by the weapon. When they collide with other nuclei in the surrounding material, the neutrons transmute those nuclei into other isotopes, altering their stability and making them radioactive.

The most commonly used fissile materials for nuclear weapons applications have been uranium-235 and plutonium-239. Less commonly used has been uranium-233. Neptunium-237 and some isotopes of americium may be usable for nuclear explosives as well, but it is not clear that this has ever been implemented, and their plausible use in nuclear weapons is a matter of dispute.

Fusion weapons

The other basic type of nuclear weapon produces a large proportion of its energy in nuclear fusion reactions. Such fusion weapons are generally referred to as thermonuclear weapons or more colloquially as hydrogen bombs (abbreviated as H-bombs), as they rely on fusion reactions between isotopes of hydrogen ( deuterium and tritium). All such weapons derive a significant portion of their energy from fission reactions used to "trigger" fusion reactions, and fusion reactions can themselves trigger additional fission reactions.

Only six countries-the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, China, France, and India-have conducted thermonuclear weapon tests. Whether India has detonated a "true" multi-staged thermonuclear weapon is controversial. North Korea claims to have tested a fusion weapon as of January 2016, though this claim is disputed. Thermonuclear weapons are considered much more difficult to successfully design and execute than primitive fission weapons. Almost all of the nuclear weapons deployed today use the thermonuclear design because it is more efficient.

Thermonuclear bombs work by using the energy of a fission bomb to compress and heat fusion fuel. In the Teller-Ulam design, which accounts for all multi-megaton yield hydrogen bombs, this is accomplished by placing a fission bomb and fusion fuel ( tritium, deuterium, or lithium deuteride) in proximity within a special, radiation-reflecting container. When the fission bomb is detonated, gamma rays and X-rays emitted first compress the fusion fuel, then heat it to thermonuclear temperatures. The ensuing fusion reaction creates enormous numbers of high-speed neutrons, which can then induce fission in materials not normally prone to it, such as depleted uranium. Each of these components is known as a "stage", with the fission bomb as the "primary" and the fusion capsule as the "secondary". In large, megaton-range hydrogen bombs, about half of the yield comes from the final fissioning of depleted uranium.

Virtually all thermonuclear weapons deployed today use the "two-stage" design described to the right, but it is possible to add additional fusion stages-each stage igniting a larger amount of fusion fuel in the next stage. This technique can be used to construct thermonuclear weapons of arbitrarily large yield. This is in contrast to fission bombs, which are limited in their explosive power due to criticality danger (premature nuclear chain reaction caused by too-large amounts of pre-assembled fissile fuel). The largest nuclear weapon ever detonated, the Tsar Bomba of the USSR, which released an energy equivalent of over 50 megatons of TNT (210 PJ), was a three-stage weapon. Most thermonuclear weapons are considerably smaller than this, due to practical constraints from missile warhead space and weight requirements. In the early 1950s the Livermore Laboratory in the United States had plans for the testing of two massive bombs, Gnomon and Sundial, 1 gigaton of TNT and 10 gigatons of TNT respectively.

Other types

There are other types of nuclear weapons as well. For example, a boosted fission weapon is a fission bomb that increases its explosive yield through a small number of fusion reactions, but it is not a fusion bomb. In the boosted bomb, the neutrons produced by the fusion reactions serve primarily to increase the efficiency of the fission bomb. There are two types of boosted fission bomb: internally boosted, in which a deuterium-tritium mixture is injected into the bomb core, and externally boosted, in which concentric shells of lithium-deuteride and depleted uranium are layered on the outside of the fission bomb core. The external method of boosting enabled the USSR to field the first partially thermonuclear weapons, but it is now obsolete because it demands a spherical bomb geometry, which was adequate during the 1950s arms race when bomber aircraft were the only available delivery vehicles.

In connection with the Strategic Defense Initiative, research into the nuclear pumped laser was conducted under the DOD program Project Excalibur but this did not result in a working weapon. The concept involves the tapping of the energy of an exploding nuclear bomb to power a single-shot laser that is directed at a distant target.

During the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test in 1962, an unexpected effect was produced which is called a nuclear electromagnetic pulse. This is an intense flash of electromagnetic energy produced by a rain of high-energy electrons which in turn are produced by a nuclear bomb's gamma rays. This flash of energy can permanently destroy or disrupt electronic equipment if insufficiently shielded. It has been proposed to use this effect to disable an enemy's military and civilian infrastructure as an adjunct to other nuclear or conventional military operations. By itself it could as well be useful to terrorists for crippling a nation's economic electronics-based infrastructure. Because the effect is most effectively produced by high altitude nuclear detonations (by military weapons delivered by air, though ground bursts also produce EMP effects over a localized area), it can produce damage to electronics over a wide, even continental, geographical area.

Research has been done into the possibility of pure fusion bombs: nuclear weapons that consist of fusion reactions without requiring a fission bomb to initiate them. Such a device might provide a simpler path to thermonuclear weapons than one that required the development of fission weapons first, and pure fusion weapons would create significantly less nuclear fallout than other thermonuclear weapons because they would not disperse fission products. In 1998, the United States Department of Energy divulged that the United States had, "...made a substantial investment" in the past to develop pure fusion weapons, but that, "The U.S. does not have and is not developing a pure fusion weapon", and that, "No credible design for a pure fusion weapon resulted from the DOE investment".

Nuclear isomers provide a possible pathway to fissionless fusion bombs. These are naturally occurring isotopes ( being a prominent example) which exist in an elevated energy state. Mechanisms to release this energy as bursts of gamma radiation (as in the hafnium controversy) have been proposed as possible triggers for conventional thermonuclear reactions.

Antimatter, which consists of particles resembling ordinary matter particles in most of their properties but having opposite electric charge, has been considered as a trigger mechanism for nuclear weapons. A major obstacle is the difficulty of producing antimatter in large enough quantities, and there is no evidence that it is feasible beyond the military domain. However, the U.S. Air Force funded studies of the physics of antimatter in the Cold War, and began considering its possible use in weapons, not just as a trigger, but as the explosive itself. A fourth generation nuclear weapon design is related to, and relies upon, the same principle as antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion.

Most variation in nuclear weapon design is for the purpose of achieving different yields for different situations, and in manipulating design elements to attempt to minimize weapon size, radiation hardness or requirements for special materials, especially fissile fuel or tritium.

Tactical nuclear weapons

Some nuclear weapons are designed for special purposes; most of these are for non-strategic (decisively war-winning) purposes and are referred to as tactical nuclear weapons.

The neutron bomb purportedly conceived by Sam Cohen is a thermonuclear weapon that yields a relatively small explosion but a relatively large amount of neutron radiation. Such a weapon could, according to tacticians, be used to cause massive biological casualties while leaving inanimate infrastructure mostly intact and creating minimal fallout. Because high energy neutrons are capable of penetrating dense matter, such as tank armor, neutron warheads were procured in the 1980s (though not deployed in Europe) for use as tactical payloads for US Army artillery shells (200 mm W79 and 155 mm W82) and short range missile forces. Soviet authorities announced similar intentions for neutron warhead deployment in Europe; indeed, they claimed to have originally invented the neutron bomb, but their deployment on USSR tactical nuclear forces is unverifiable.

A type of nuclear explosive most suitable for use by ground special forces was the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, or SADM, sometimes popularly known as a suitcase nuke. This is a nuclear bomb that is man-portable, or at least truck-portable, and though of a relatively small yield (one or two kilotons) is sufficient to destroy important tactical targets such as bridges, dams, tunnels, important military or commercial installations, etc. either behind enemy lines or pre-emptively on friendly territory soon to be overtaken by invading enemy forces. These weapons require plutonium fuel and are particularly "dirty". They also demand especially stringent security precautions in their storage and deployment.

Small "tactical" nuclear weapons were deployed for use as antiaircraft weapons. Examples include the USAF AIR-2 Genie, the AIM-26 Falcon and US Army Nike Hercules. Missile interceptors such as the Sprint and the Spartan also used small nuclear warheads (optimized to produce neutron or X-ray flux) but were for use against enemy strategic warheads.

Other small, or tactical, nuclear weapons were deployed by naval forces for use primarily as antisubmarine weapons. These included nuclear depth bombs or nuclear armed torpedoes. Nuclear mines for use on land or at sea are also possibilities.

Weapons delivery

The first nuclear weapons were gravity bombs, such as this "Fat Man" weapon dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. They were large and could only be delivered by heavy bomber aircraft

A demilitarized, commercial launch of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces R-36 ICBM; also known by the NATO reporting name: SS-18 Satan. Upon its first fielding in the late 1960s, the SS-18 remains the single highest throw weight missile delivery system ever built.

The simplest method for delivering a nuclear weapon is a gravity bomb dropped from aircraft; this was the method used by the United States against Japan. This method places few restrictions on the size of the weapon. It does, however, limit attack range, response time to an impending attack, and the number of weapons that a country can field at the same time. With miniaturization, nuclear bombs can be delivered by both strategic bombers and tactical fighter-bombers. This method is the primary means of nuclear weapons delivery; the majority of U.S. nuclear warheads, for example, are free-fall gravity bombs, namely the B61, which is being improved upon to this day.

Montage of an inert test of a United States Trident SLBM (submarine launched ballistic missile), from submerged to the terminal, or re-entry phase, of the multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles

Preferable from a strategic point of view is a nuclear weapon mounted on a missile, which can use a ballistic trajectory to deliver the warhead over the horizon. Although even short-range missiles allow for a faster and less vulnerable attack, the development of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) has given some nations the ability to plausibly deliver missiles anywhere on the globe with a high likelihood of success.

More advanced systems, such as multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), can launch multiple warheads at different targets from one missile, reducing the chance of a successful missile defense. Today, missiles are most common among systems designed for delivery of nuclear weapons. Making a warhead small enough to fit onto a missile, though, can be difficult.

Tactical weapons have involved the most variety of delivery types, including not only gravity bombs and missiles but also artillery shells, land mines, and nuclear depth charges and torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare. An atomic mortar has been tested by the United States. Small, two-man portable tactical weapons (somewhat misleadingly referred to as suitcase bombs), such as the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, have been developed, although the difficulty of combining sufficient yield with portability limits their military utility.

Nuclear strategy

The now decommissioned United States' Peacekeeper missile was an ICBM developed to replace the Minuteman missile in the late 1980s. Each missile, like the heavier lift Russian SS-18 Satan, could contain up to ten nuclear warheads (shown in red), each of which could be aimed at a different target. A factor in the development of MIRVs was to make complete missile defense difficult for an enemy country.

Weapons designed to threaten large populations or to deter attacks are known as strategic weapons. Nuclear weapons for use on a battlefield in military situations are called tactical weapons.

Critics of nuclear war strategy often suggest that a nuclear war between two nations would result in mutual annihilation. From this point of view, the significance of nuclear weapons is to deter war because any nuclear war would escalate out of mutual distrust and fear, resulting in mutually assured destruction. This threat of national, if not global, destruction has been a strong motivation for anti-nuclear weapons activism.

Critics from the peace movement and within the military establishment have questioned the usefulness of such weapons in the current military climate. According to an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in 1996, the use of (or threat of use of) such weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, but the court did not reach an opinion as to whether or not the threat or use would be lawful in specific extreme circumstances such as if the survival of the state were at stake.

Ballistic missile submarines have been of great strategic importance for the United States, Russia, and other nuclear powers since they entered service in the Cold War, as they can hide from reconnaissance satellites and fire their nuclear weapons with virtual impunity.

Another deterrence position is that nuclear proliferation can be desirable. In this case, it is argued that, unlike conventional weapons, nuclear weapons deter all-out war between states, and they succeeded in doing this during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Gen. Pierre Marie Gallois of France, an adviser to Charles de Gaulle, argued in books like The Balance of Terror: Strategy for the Nuclear Age (1961) that mere possession of a nuclear arsenal was enough to ensure deterrence, and thus concluded that the spread of nuclear weapons could increase international stability. Some prominent neo-realist scholars, such as Kenneth Waltz and John Mearsheimer, have argued, along the lines of Gallois, that some forms of nuclear proliferation would decrease the likelihood of total war, especially in troubled regions of the world where there exists a single nuclear-weapon state. Aside from the public opinion that opposes proliferation in any form, there are two schools of thought on the matter: those, like Mearsheimer, who favored selective proliferation, and Waltz, who was somewhat more non- interventionist. Interest in proliferation and the stability-instability paradox that it generates continues to this day, with ongoing debate about indigenous Japanese and South Korean nuclear deterrent against North Korea.

The threat of potentially suicidal terrorists possessing nuclear weapons (a form of nuclear terrorism) complicates the decision process. The prospect of mutually assured destruction might not deter an enemy who expects to die in the confrontation. Further, if the initial act is from a stateless terrorist instead of a sovereign nation, there might not be a nation or specific target to retaliate against. It has been argued, especially after the September 11, 2001, attacks, that this complication calls for a new nuclear strategy, one that is distinct from that which gave relative stability during the Cold War. Since 1996, the United States has had a policy of allowing the targeting of its nuclear weapons at terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction.

A Minuteman III ICBM test launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, United States. MIRVed land-based ICBMs are considered destabilizing because they tend to put a premium on striking first.

Robert Gallucci argues that although traditional deterrence is not an effective approach toward terrorist groups bent on causing a nuclear catastrophe, Gallucci believes that "the United States should instead consider a policy of expanded deterrence, which focuses not solely on the would-be nuclear terrorists but on those states that may deliberately transfer or inadvertently leak nuclear weapons and materials to them. By threatening retaliation against those states, the United States may be able to deter that which it cannot physically prevent.".

Graham Allison makes a similar case, arguing that the key to expanded deterrence is coming up with ways of tracing nuclear material to the country that forged the fissile material. "After a nuclear bomb detonates, nuclear forensics cops would collect debris samples and send them to a laboratory for radiological analysis. By identifying unique attributes of the fissile material, including its impurities and contaminants, one could trace the path back to its origin." The process is analogous to identifying a criminal by fingerprints. "The goal would be twofold: first, to deter leaders of nuclear states from selling weapons to terrorists by holding them accountable for any use of their weapons; second, to give leaders every incentive to tightly secure their nuclear weapons and materials."

According to the Pentagon's June 2019 " Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations" of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs website Publication, "Integration of nuclear weapons employment with conventional and special operations forces is essential to the success of any mission or operation."

Governance, control, and law

Because they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation and possible use of nuclear weapons are important issues in international relations and diplomacy. In most countries, the use of nuclear force can only be authorized by the head of government or head of state. Despite controls and regulations governing nuclear weapons, there is an inherent danger of "accidents, mistakes, false alarms, blackmail, theft, and sabotage".

In the late 1940s, lack of mutual trust prevented the United States and the Soviet Union from making progress on arms control agreements. The Russell-Einstein Manifesto was issued in London on July 9, 1955, by Bertrand Russell in the midst of the Cold War. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict. The signatories included eleven pre-eminent intellectuals and scientists, including Albert Einstein, who signed it just days before his death on April 18, 1955. A few days after the release, philanthropist Cyrus S. Eaton offered to sponsor a conference-called for in the manifesto-in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Eaton's birthplace. This conference was to be the first of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, held in July 1957.

UN vote on adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on July 7, 2017

In 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established under the mandate of the United Nations to encourage development of peaceful applications of nuclear technology, provide international safeguards against its misuse, and facilitate the application of safety measures in its use. In 1996, many nations signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which prohibits all testing of nuclear weapons. A testing ban imposes a significant hindrance to nuclear arms development by any complying country. The Treaty requires the ratification by 44 specific states before it can go into force; as of 2012, the ratification of eight of these states is still required.

Additional treaties and agreements have governed nuclear weapons stockpiles between the countries with the two largest stockpiles, the United States and the Soviet Union, and later between the United States and Russia. These include treaties such as SALT II (never ratified), START I (expired), INF, START II (never in effect), SORT, and New START, as well as non-binding agreements such as SALT I and the Presidential Nuclear Initiatives of 1991. Even when they did not enter into force, these agreements helped limit and later reduce the numbers and types of nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia.

Nuclear weapons have also been opposed by agreements between countries. Many nations have been declared Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones, areas where nuclear weapons production and deployment are prohibited, through the use of treaties. The Treaty of Tlatelolco (1967) prohibited any production or deployment of nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Treaty of Pelindaba (1964) prohibits nuclear weapons in many African countries. As recently as 2006 a Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone was established among the former Soviet republics of Central Asia prohibiting nuclear weapons.

Large stockpile with global range (dark blue), smaller stockpile with global range (medium blue), small stockpile with regional range (light blue).

In 1996, the International Court of Justice, the highest court of the United Nations, issued an Advisory Opinion concerned with the " Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons". The court ruled that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons would violate various articles of international law, including the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions, the UN Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Given the unique, destructive characteristics of nuclear weapons, the International Committee of the Red Cross calls on States to ensure that these weapons are never used, irrespective of whether they consider them lawful or not.

Additionally, there have been other, specific actions meant to discourage countries from developing nuclear arms. In the wake of the tests by India and Pakistan in 1998, economic sanctions were (temporarily) levied against both countries, though neither were signatories with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. One of the stated casus belli for the initiation of the 2003 Iraq War was an accusation by the United States that Iraq was actively pursuing nuclear arms (though this was soon discovered not to be the case as the program had been discontinued). In 1981, Israel had bombed a nuclear reactor being constructed in Osirak, Iraq, in what it called an attempt to halt Iraq's previous nuclear arms ambitions; in 2007, Israel bombed another reactor being constructed in Syria.

In 2013, Mark Diesendorf said that governments of France, India, North Korea, Pakistan, UK, and South Africa have used nuclear power or research reactors to assist nuclear weapons development or to contribute to their supplies of nuclear explosives from military reactors.

In 2017, 122 countries mainly in the Global South voted in favor of adopting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which eventually entered into force in 2021.

The Doomsday Clock measures the likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe and is published annually by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The two years with the highest likelihood had previously been 1953, when the Clock was set to two minutes until midnight after the U.S. and the Soviet Union began testing hydrogen bombs, and 2018, following the failure of world leaders to address tensions relating to nuclear weapons and climate change issues. In 2023, following the escalation of nuclear threats during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the doomsday clock was set to 90 seconds, the highest likelihood of global catastrophe since the existence of the Doomsday Clock.

Disarmament

The USSR and United States nuclear weapon stockpiles throughout the Cold War until 2015, with a precipitous drop in total numbers following the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are eliminated.

Only one country-South Africa-has ever fully renounced nuclear weapons they had independently developed. The former Soviet republics of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine returned Soviet nuclear arms stationed in their countries to Russia after the collapse of the USSR.

Proponents of nuclear disarmament say that it would lessen the probability of nuclear war, especially accidentally. Critics of nuclear disarmament say that it would undermine the present nuclear peace and deterrence and would lead to increased global instability. Various American elder statesmen, who were in office during the Cold War period, have been advocating the elimination of nuclear weapons. These officials include Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Sam Nunn, and William Perry. In January 2010, Lawrence M. Krauss stated that "no issue carries more importance to the long-term health and security of humanity than the effort to reduce, and perhaps one day, rid the world of nuclear weapons".

Ukrainian workers use equipment provided by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency to dismantle a Soviet-era missile silo. After the end of the Cold War, Ukraine and the other non-Russian, post-Soviet republics relinquished Soviet nuclear stockpiles to Russia.

In January 1986, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev publicly proposed a three-stage program for abolishing the world's nuclear weapons by the end of the 20th century. In the years after the end of the Cold War, there have been numerous campaigns to urge the abolition of nuclear weapons, such as that organized by the Global Zero movement, and the goal of a "world without nuclear weapons" was advocated by United States President Barack Obama in an April 2009 speech in Prague. A CNN poll from April 2010 indicated that the American public was nearly evenly split on the issue.

Some analysts have argued that nuclear weapons have made the world relatively safer, with peace through deterrence and through the stability-instability paradox, including in south Asia. Kenneth Waltz has argued that nuclear weapons have helped keep an uneasy peace, and further nuclear weapon proliferation might even help avoid the large scale conventional wars that were so common before their invention at the end of World War II. But former Secretary Henry Kissinger says there is a new danger, which cannot be addressed by deterrence: "The classical notion of deterrence was that there was some consequences before which aggressors and evildoers would recoil. In a world of suicide bombers, that calculation doesn't operate in any comparable way". George Shultz has said, "If you think of the people who are doing suicide attacks, and people like that get a nuclear weapon, they are almost by definition not deterrable".

As of early 2019, more than 90% of world's 13,865 nuclear weapons were owned by Russia and the United States.

United Nations

The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat established in January 1998 as part of the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plan to reform the UN as presented in his report to the General Assembly in July 1997.

Its goal is to promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and the strengthening of the disarmament regimes in respect to other weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological weapons. It also promotes disarmament efforts in the area of conventional weapons, especially land mines and small arms, which are often the weapons of choice in contemporary conflicts.

Controversy

Notable nuclear weapons accidents

August 21, 1945: While conducting experiments on a plutonium-gallium core at Los Alamos National Laboratory, physicist Harry Daghlian received a lethal dose of radiation when an error caused it to enter prompt criticality. He died 25 days later, on September 15, 1945, from radiation poisoning.

May 21, 1946: While conducting further experiments on the same core at Los Alamos National Laboratory, physicist Louis Slotin accidentally caused the core to become briefly supercritical. He received a lethal dose of gamma and neutron radiation, and died nine days later on May 30, 1946. After the death of Daghlian and Slotin, the mass became known as the "demon core". It was ultimately used to construct a bomb for use on the Nevada Test Range.

February 13, 1950: a Convair B-36B crashed in northern British Columbia after jettisoning a Mark IV atomic bomb. This was the first such nuclear weapon loss in history. The accident was designated a "Broken Arrow"-an accident involving a nuclear weapon, but which does not present a risk of war. Experts believe that up to 50 nuclear weapons were lost during the Cold War.

May 22, 1957: a 42,000-pound (19,000 kg) Mark-17 hydrogen bomb accidentally fell from a bomber near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The detonation of the device's conventional explosives destroyed it on impact and formed a crater 25 feet (7.6 m) in diameter on land owned by the University of New Mexico. According to a researcher at the Natural Resources Defense Council, it was one of the most powerful bombs made to date.

June 7, 1960: the 1960 Fort Dix IM-99 accident destroyed a Boeing CIM-10 Bomarc nuclear missile and shelter and contaminated the BOMARC Missile Accident Site in New Jersey.

January 24, 1961: the 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash occurred near Goldsboro, North Carolina. A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress carrying two Mark 39 nuclear bombs broke up in mid-air, dropping its nuclear payload in the process.

1965 Philippine Sea A-4 crash, where a Skyhawk attack aircraft with a nuclear weapon fell into the sea. The pilot, the aircraft, and the B43 nuclear bomb were never recovered. It was not until 1989 that the Pentagon revealed the loss of the one-megaton bomb.

January 17, 1966: the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash occurred when a B-52G bomber of the USAF collided with a KC-135 tanker during mid-air refuelling off the coast of Spain. The KC-135 was completely destroyed when its fuel load ignited, killing all four crew members. The B-52G broke apart, killing three of the seven crew members aboard. Of the four Mk28 type hydrogen bombs the B-52G carried, three were found on land near Almería, Spain. The non-nuclear explosives in two of the weapons detonated upon impact with the ground, resulting in the contamination of a 2-square-kilometer (490-acre) (0.78 square mile) area by radioactive plutonium. The fourth, which fell into the Mediterranean Sea, was recovered intact after a 2-month-long search.

January 21, 1968: the 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash involved a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 bomber. The aircraft was carrying four hydrogen bombs when a cabin fire forced the crew to abandon the aircraft. Six crew members ejected safely, but one who did not have an ejection seat was killed while trying to bail out. The bomber crashed onto sea ice in Greenland, causing the nuclear payload to rupture and disperse, which resulted in widespread radioactive contamination. One of the bombs remains lost.

September 18-19, 1980: the Damascus Accident occurred in Damascus, Arkansas, where a Titan Missile equipped with a nuclear warhead exploded. The accident was caused by a maintenance man who dropped a socket from a socket wrench down an 80-foot (24 m) shaft, puncturing a fuel tank on the rocket. Leaking fuel resulted in a hypergolic fuel explosion, jettisoning the W-53 warhead beyond the launch site.

Nuclear testing and fallout

This view of downtown Las Vegas shows a mushroom cloud in the background. Scenes such as this were typical during the 1950s. From 1951 to 1962 the government conducted 100 atmospheric tests at the nearby Nevada Test Site.

Over 500 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests were conducted at various sites around the world from 1945 to 1980. Radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing was first drawn to public attention in 1954 when the Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test at the Pacific Proving Grounds contaminated the crew and catch of the Japanese fishing boat Lucky Dragon. One of the fishermen died in Japan seven months later, and the fear of contaminated tuna led to a temporary boycotting of the popular staple in Japan. The incident caused widespread concern around the world, especially regarding the effects of nuclear fallout and atmospheric nuclear testing, and "provided a decisive impetus for the emergence of the anti-nuclear weapons movement in many countries".

As public awareness and concern mounted over the possible health hazards associated with exposure to the nuclear fallout, various studies were done to assess the extent of the hazard. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/ National Cancer Institute study claims that fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests would lead to perhaps 11,000 excess deaths among people alive during atmospheric testing in the United States from all forms of cancer, including leukemia, from 1951 to well into the 21st century. As of March 2009, the U.S. is the only nation that compensates nuclear test victims. Since the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, more than $1.38 billion in compensation has been approved. The money is going to people who took part in the tests, notably at the Nevada Test Site, and to others exposed to the radiation.

In addition, leakage of byproducts of nuclear weapon production into groundwater has been an ongoing issue, particularly at the Hanford site.

Effects of nuclear explosions

Effects of nuclear explosions on human health

Some scientists estimate that a nuclear war with 100 Hiroshima-size nuclear explosions on cities could cost the lives of tens of millions of people from long-term climatic effects alone. The climatology hypothesis is that if each city firestorms, a great deal of soot could be thrown up into the atmosphere which could blanket the earth, cutting out sunlight for years on end, causing the disruption of food chains, in what is termed a nuclear winter.

People near the Hiroshima explosion and who managed to survive the explosion subsequently suffered a variety of horrible medical effects. Some of these effects are still present to this day:

Initial stage-the first 1-9 weeks, in which are the greatest number of deaths, with 90% due to thermal injury or blast effects and 10% due to super-lethal radiation exposure.

Intermediate stage-from 10 to 12 weeks. The deaths in this period are from ionizing radiation in the median lethal range - LD50

Late period-lasting from 13 to 20 weeks. This period has some improvement in survivors' condition.

Delayed period-from 20+ weeks. Characterized by numerous complications, mostly related to healing of thermal and mechanical injuries, and if the individual was exposed to a few hundred to a thousand millisieverts of radiation, it is coupled with infertility, sub-fertility and blood disorders. Furthermore, ionizing radiation above a dose of around 50-100 millisievert exposure has been shown to statistically begin increasing one's chance of dying of cancer sometime in their lifetime over the normal unexposed rate of ~25%, in the long term, a heightened rate of cancer, proportional to the dose received, would begin to be observed after ~5+ years, with lesser problems such as eye cataracts and other more minor effects in other organs and tissue also being observed over the long term.

Fallout exposure-depending on if further afield individuals shelter in place or evacuate perpendicular to the direction of the wind, and therefore avoid contact with the fallout plume, and stay there for the days and weeks after the nuclear explosion, their exposure to fallout, and therefore their total dose, will vary. With those who do shelter in place, and or evacuate, experiencing a total dose that would be negligible in comparison to someone who just went about their life as normal.

Staying indoors until after the most hazardous fallout isotope, I-131 decays away to 0.1% of its initial quantity after ten half-lifes-which is represented by 80 days in I-131s case, would make the difference between likely contracting Thyroid cancer or escaping completely from this substance depending on the actions of the individual.

Effects of nuclear war

Nuclear war could yield unprecedented human death tolls and habitat destruction. Detonating large numbers of nuclear weapons would have an immediate, short term and long-term effects on the climate, potentially causing cold weather known as a " nuclear winter". In 1982, Brian Martin estimated that a US-Soviet nuclear exchange might kill 400-450 million directly, mostly in the United States, Europe and Russia, and maybe several hundred million more through follow-up consequences in those same areas. Many scholars have posited that a global thermonuclear war with Cold War-era stockpiles, or even with the current smaller stockpiles, may lead to the extinction of the human race. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War believe that nuclear war could indirectly contribute to human extinction via secondary effects, including environmental consequences, societal breakdown, and economic collapse. It has been estimated that a relatively small-scale nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan involving 100 Hiroshima yield (15 kilotons) weapons, could cause a nuclear winter and kill more than a billion people.

According to a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Nature Food in August 2022, a full-scale nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia would directly kill 360 million people and more than 5 billion people would die from starvation. More than 2 billion people could die from a smaller-scale nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

Public opposition

Peace movements emerged in Japan and in 1954 they converged to form a unified " Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs." Japanese opposition to nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean was widespread, and "an estimated 35 million signatures were collected on petitions calling for bans on nuclear weapons".

In the United Kingdom, the first Aldermaston March organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament(CND) took place at Easter 1958, when, according to the CND, several thousand people marched for four days from Trafalgar Square, London, to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment close to Aldermaston in Berkshire, England, to demonstrate their opposition to nuclear weapons. The Aldermaston marches continued into the late 1960s when tens of thousands of people took part in the four-day marches.

In 1959, a letter in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists was the start of a successful campaign to stop the Atomic Energy Commission dumping radioactive waste in the sea 19 kilometres from Boston. In 1962, Linus Pauling won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to stop the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, and the "Ban the Bomb" movement spread.

In 1963, many countries ratified the Partial Test Ban Treaty prohibiting atmospheric nuclear testing. Radioactive fallout became less of an issue and the anti-nuclear weapons movement went into decline for some years. A resurgence of interest occurred amid European and American fears of nuclear war in the 1980s.

Costs and technology spin-offs

According to an audit by the Brookings Institution, between 1940 and 1996, the U.S. spent $10.9 trillion in present-day terms on nuclear weapons programs. 57% of which was spent on building nuclear weapons delivery systems. 6.3% of the total, $681 billion in present-day terms, was spent on environmental remediation and nuclear waste management, for example cleaning up the Hanford site, and 7% of the total, $763 billion was spent on making nuclear weapons themselves.

Non-weapons uses

Peaceful nuclear explosions are nuclear explosions conducted for non-military purposes, such as activities related to economic development including the creation of canals. During the 1960s and 1970s, both the United States and the Soviet Union conducted a number of PNEs. Six of the explosions by the Soviet Union are considered to have been of an applied nature, not just tests.

The United States and the Soviet Union later halted their programs. Definitions and limits are covered in the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty of 1976. The stalled Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty of 1996 would prohibit all nuclear explosions, regardless of whether they are for peaceful purposes or not.

History of development

In nuclear fission, the nucleus of a fissile atom (in this case, enriched uranium) absorbs a thermal neutron, becomes unstable and splits into two new atoms, releasing some energy and between one and three new neutrons, which can perpetuate the process.

Leo Szilard, pictured in about 1960, invented the electron microscope, nuclear chain reaction and patented the nuclear reactor

Major General Leslie Groves and Robert Oppenheimer at the Trinity test site in 1945

References

Bibliography

Bethe, Hans Albrecht. The Road from Los Alamos. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991. ISBN 0-671-74012-1

DeVolpi, Alexander, Minkov, Vladimir E., Simonenko, Vadim A., and Stanford, George S. Nuclear Shadowboxing: Contemporary Threats from Cold War Weaponry. Fidlar Doubleday, 2004 (Two volumes, both accessible on Google Book Search) (Content of both volumes is now available in the 2009 trilogy by Alexander DeVolpi: Nuclear Insights: The Cold War Legacy)

Glasstone, Samuel and Dolan, Philip J. The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (third edition). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977. Available online (PDF).

NATO Handbook on the Medical Aspects of NBC Defensive Operations (Part I - Nuclear). Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force: Washington, D.C., 1996

Hansen, Chuck. U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History. Arlington, TX: Aerofax, 1988

Hansen, Chuck, "Swords of Armageddon: U.S. nuclear weapons development since 1945" (CD-ROM & download available). PDF. 2,600 pages, Sunnyvale, California, Chucklea Publications, 1995, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9791915-0-3 (2nd Ed.)

Holloway, David. Stalin and the Bomb. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-300-06056-4

The Manhattan Engineer District, "The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" (1946)

(in French) Jean-Hugues Oppel, Réveillez le président, Éditions Payot et rivages, 2007 (ISBN 978-2-7436-1630-4). The book is a fiction about the nuclear weapons of France; the book also contains about ten chapters on true historical incidents involving nuclear weapons and strategy.

Smyth, Henry DeWolf. Atomic Energy for Military Purposes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1945. (Smyth Report - the first declassified report by the US government on nuclear weapons)

The Effects of Nuclear War. Office of Technology Assessment, May 1979.

Rhodes, Richard. Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0-684-82414-0

Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986 ISBN 0-684-81378-5

Shultz, George P. and Goodby, James E. The War that Must Never be Fought, Hoover Press, 2015, ISBN 978-0-8179-1845-3.

Weart, Spencer R. Nuclear Fear: A History of Images. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-674-62836-5

Weart, Spencer R. The Rise of Nuclear Fear. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2012. ISBN 0-674-05233-1

Further reading

Laura Grego and David Wright, "Broken Shield: Missiles designed to destroy incoming nuclear warheads fail frequently in tests and could increase global risk of mass destruction", Scientific American, vol. 320, no. no. 6 (June 2019), pp. 62-67. "Current U.S. missile defense plans are being driven largely by technology, politics and fear. Missile defenses will not allow us to escape our vulnerability to nuclear weapons. Instead large-scale developments will create barriers to taking real steps toward reducing nuclear risks-by blocking further cuts in nuclear arsenals and potentially spurring new deployments." (p. 67.)

Michael T. Klare, "Missile Mania: The death of the INF [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty [of 1987] has escalated the arms race", , vol. 309, no. 6 (September 23, 2019), p. 4.

Moniz, Ernest J., and Sam Nunn, "The Return of Doomsday: The New Nuclear Arms Race - and How Washington and Moscow Can Stop It", Foreign Affairs, vol. 98, no. 5 (September / October 2019), pp. 150-161. Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn write that "the old [strategic] equilibrium" between the United States and Russia has been "destabilized" by "clashing national interests, insufficient dialogue, eroding arms control structures, advanced missile systems, and new cyberweapons... Unless Washington and Moscow confront these problems now, a major international conflict or nuclear escalation is disturbingly plausible-perhaps even likely." (p. 161.)

Thomas Powers, "The Nuclear Worrier" (review of Daniel Ellsberg, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, New York, Bloomsbury, 2017, ISBN 9781608196708, 420 pp.), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXV, no. 1 (January 18, 2018), pp. 13-15.

Eric Schlosser, Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, Penguin Press, 2013, ISBN 1594202273. The book became the basis for a 2-hour 2017 PBS American Experience episode, likewise titled "Command and Control". Nuclear weapons continue to be equally hazardous to their owners as to their potential targets. Under the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, nuclear-weapon states are obliged to work toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Tom Stevenson, "A Tiny Sun" (review of Fred Kaplan, The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War, Simon and Schuster, 2021, 384 pp.; and Keir A. Lieber and Daryl G. Press, The Myth of the Nuclear Revolution: Power Politics in the Atomic Age, Cornell, 2020, 180 pp.), London Review of Books, vol. 44, no. 4 (24 February 2022), pp. 29-32. "Nuclear strategists systematically underestimate the chances of nuclear accident... [T]here have been too many close calls for accidental use to be discounted." (p. 32.)

David Wright and Cameron Tracy, "Over-hyped: Physics dictates that hypersonic weapons cannot live up to the grand promises made on their behalf", Scientific American, vol. 325, no. 2 (August 2021), pp. 64-71. "Failure to fully assess [the potential benefits and costs of hypersonic weapons] is a recipe for wasteful spending and increased global risk." (p. 71.)

External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter.

# data[].attributes.body
Great Society – Created by President LBJ to improve the social welfare safety net in the USA.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Were LBJ's "Great Society" Programs? | History

# data[].attributes.body
Brown v. Board – Supreme Court Case that ended the segregation of schools.
布朗诉教育委员会案 – 最高法院案件，终结了学校的种族隔离。

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
布朗诉托皮卡教育局案 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书

# data[].attributes.body
Reaganomics refers to the economic policies of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, emphasizing tax cuts, reduced government regulation, and a belief that stimulating economic growth among the wealthy would benefit the entire economy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Reaganomics is a popular term used to refer to the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president (1981-1989), which called for widespread tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending and the deregulation of domestic markets. These economic policies were introduced in response to a prolonged period of economic stagflation that began under President Gerald Ford in 1976.

The term Reaganomics was used by both supporters and detractors of Reagan's policies. Reaganomics was partially based on the principles of supply-side economics and the trickle-down theory. These theories hold the view that decreases in taxes, especially for corporations, offer the best way to stimulate economic growth. The idea is if the expenses of corporations are reduced, the savings "trickle down" to the rest of the economy, spurring growth. Prior to becoming Reagan's vice president, George H. W. Bush coined the term "voodoo economics" as a proposed synonym for Reaganomics.

As Reagan began his first term in office, the country was suffering through several years of stagflation, in which high inflation was accompanied by high unemployment. To fight high inflation, the Federal Reserve Board was increasing the short-term interest rate, which was near its peak in 1981. Reagan proposed a four-pronged economic policy that was intended to reduce inflation and stimulate economic and job growth: 1) reduce government spending on domestic programs; 2) reduce taxes for individuals, businesses and investments; 3) reduce the burden of regulations on business; and 4) support slower money growth in the economy.

Although Reagan reduced domestic spending, it was more than offset by increased military spending, creating a net deficit throughout his two terms. The top marginal tax rate on individual income was slashed to 28% from 70%, and the corporate tax rate was reduced from 48% to 34%. Reagan continued with the reduction of economic regulation that began under President Jimmy Carter and eliminated price controls on oil and natural gas, long distance telephone services and cable television. In his second term, Reagan supported a monetary policy that stabilized the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies.

Near the end of Reagan's second term, tax revenues received by the U.S. government increased to $909 billion in 1988 from $517 billion in 1980. Inflation was reduced to 4%, and the unemployment rate fell below 6%. Although economists and politicians continue to argue over the effects of Reaganomics, it did usher in one of the longest and strongest periods of prosperity in American history. Between 1982 and 2000, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) grew nearly 14-fold, and the economy added 40 million new jobs.

There are plenty of people who believe that the same policies set in place by Reagan in the 1980s could help the American economy today. But critics object, saying that we aren't in the same situation and that any application could actually have the opposite effect. Reagan cut individual taxes when they were 70%, a far cry from where they are today. And cutting taxes even further may result in a decrease in (tax) revenues for the government.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reaganomics is a popular term used to refer to the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. president (1981-1989), which called for widespread tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending and the deregulation of domestic markets. These economic policies were introduced in response to a prolonged period of economic stagflation that began under President Gerald Ford in 1976.

# data[].attributes.body
an economic theory asserting that benefits provided to the wealthy and businesses will eventually "trickle down" to the rest of the population through job creation and economic growth.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Does Trickle-Down Economics Actually Work? | Robert Reich

# data[].attributes.body
actions by a central bank to control the money supply and interest rates, influencing economic activity by managing inflation, employment, and overall economic stability.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Monetary Policy: Stabilizing Prices and Output

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Central banks use tools such as interest rates to adjust the supply of money to keep the economy humming

# data[].attributes.body
Inflation the general increase in the prices of goods and services over time, reducing the purchasing power of currency.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Inflation Does to Asset Prices and the Economy

# data[].attributes.body
the total value of all goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period, serving as a key indicator of economic performance.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Download PDF

BACK T O BASICS COMPILATION

When it is growing, especially if inflation is not a problem, workers and businesses are generally better off than when it is not

Many professions commonly use abbreviations. To doctors, accountants, and baseball players, the letters MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), and ERA (earned run average), respectively, need no explanation. To someone unfamiliar with these fields, however, without an explanation these initialisms are a stumbling block to a better understanding of the subject at hand.

Economics is no different. Economists use many abbreviations. One of the most common is GDP, which stands for gross domestic product. It is often cited in newspapers, on the television news, and in reports by governments, central banks, and the business community. It has become widely used as a reference point for the health of national and global economies. When GDP is growing, especially if inflation is not a problem, workers and businesses are generally better off than when it is not.

Measuring GDP

GDP measures the monetary value of final goods and services-that is, those that are bought by the final user-produced in a country in a given period of time (say a quarter or a year). It counts all of the output generated within the borders of a country. GDP is composed of goods and services produced for sale in the market and also includes some nonmarket production, such as defense or education services provided by the government. An alternative concept, gross national product, or GNP, counts all the output of the residents of a country. So if a German-owned company has a factory in the United States, the output of this factory would be included in U.S. GDP, but in German GNP.

Not all productive activity is included in GDP. For example, unpaid work (such as that performed in the home or by volunteers) and black-market activities are not included because they are difficult to measure and value accurately. That means, for example, that a baker who produces a loaf of bread for a customer would contribute to GDP, but would not contribute to GDP if he baked the same loaf for his family (although the ingredients he purchased would be counted).

Moreover, "gross" domestic product takes no account of the "wear and tear" on the machinery, buildings, and so on (the so-called capital stock) that are used in producing the output. If this depletion of the capital stock, called depreciation, is subtracted from GDP we get net domestic product.

Theoretically, GDP can be viewed in three different ways:

● The production approach sums the "value-added" at each stage of production, where value-added is defined as total sales less the value of intermediate inputs into the production process. For example, flour would be an intermediate input and bread the final product; or an architect's services would be an intermediate input and the building the final product.

● The expenditure approach adds up the value of purchases made by final users-for example, the consumption of food, televisions, and medical services by households; the investments in machinery by companies; and the purchases of goods and services by the government and foreigners.

● The income approach sums the incomes generated by production-for example, the compensation employees receive and the operating surplus of companies (roughly sales less costs).

GDP in a country is usually calculated by the national statistical agency, which compiles the information from a large number of sources. In making the calculations, however, most countries follow established international standards. The international standard for measuring GDP is contained in the System of National Accounts, 1993, compiled by the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations, and the World Bank.

Real GDP

One thing people want to know about an economy is whether its total output of goods and services is growing or shrinking. But because GDP is collected at current, or nominal, prices, one cannot compare two periods without making adjustments for inflation. To determine "real" GDP, its nominal value must be adjusted to take into account price changes to allow us to see whether the value of output has gone up because more is being produced or simply because prices have increased. A statistical tool called the price deflator is used to adjust GDP from nominal to constant prices.

GDP is important because it gives information about the size of the economy and how an economy is performing. The growth rate of real GDP is often used as an indicator of the general health of the economy. In broad terms, an increase in real GDP is interpreted as a sign that the economy is doing well. When real GDP is growing strongly, employment is likely to be increasing as companies hire more workers for their factories and people have more money in their pockets. When GDP is shrinking, as it did in many countries during the recent global economic crisis, employment often declines. In some cases, GDP may be growing, but not fast enough to create a sufficient number of jobs for those seeking them. But real GDP growth does move in cycles over time. Economies are sometimes in periods of boom, and sometimes in periods of slow growth or even recession (with the latter often defined as two consecutive quarters during which output declines). In the United States, for example, there were six recessions of varying length and severity between 1950 and 2011. The National Bureau of Economic Research makes the call on the dates of U.S. business cycles.

Comparing GDPs of two countries

GDP is measured in the currency of the country in question. That requires adjustment when trying to compare the value of output in two countries using different currencies. The usual method is to convert the value of GDP of each country into U.S. dollars and then compare them. Conversion to dollars can be done either using market exchange rates-those that prevail in the foreign exchange market-or purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates. The PPP exchange rate is the rate at which the currency of one country would have to be converted into that of another to purchase the same amount of goods and services in each country. There is a large gap between market and PPP-based exchange rates in emerging market and developing countries. For most emerging market and developing countries, the ratio of the market and PPP U.S. dollar exchange rates is between 2 and 4. This is because nontraded goods and services tend to be cheaper in low-income than in high-income countries-for example, a haircut in New York is more expensive than in Bishkek-even when the cost of making tradable goods, such as machinery, across two countries is the same. For advanced economies, market and PPP exchange rates tend to be much closer. These differences mean that emerging market and developing countries have a higher estimated dollar GDP when the PPP exchange rate is used.

The IMF publishes an array of GDP data on its website ( www.imf.org). International institutions such as the IMF also calculate global and regional real GDP growth. These give an idea of how quickly or slowly the world economy or the economies in a particular region of the world are growing. The aggregates are constructed as weighted averages of the GDP in individual countries, with weights reflecting each country's share of GDP in the group (with PPP exchange rates used to determine the appropriate weights).

What GDP does not reveal

It is also important to understand what GDP cannot tell us. GDP is not a measure of the overall standard of living or well-being of a country. Although changes in the output of goods and services per person (GDP per capita) are often used as a measure of whether the average citizen in a country is better or worse off, it does not capture things that may be deemed important to general well-being. So, for example, increased output may come at the cost of environmental damage or other external costs such as noise. Or it might involve the reduction of leisure time or the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources. The quality of life may also depend on the distribution of GDP among the residents of a country, not just the overall level. To try to account for such factors, the United Nations computes a Human Development Index, which ranks countries not only based on GDP per capita, but on other factors, such as life expectancy, literacy, and school enrollment. Other attempts have been made to account for some of the shortcomings of GDP, such as the Genuine Progress Indicator and the Gross National Happiness Index, but these too have their critics.

Tim Callen is a former Assistant Director in the IMF's Communication Department.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Gross Domestic Product: An Economy's All

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Download PDF BACK T O BASICS COMPILATION When it is growing, especially if inflation is not a problem, workers and businesses are generally better off than when it is not Many professions commonly use abbreviations. To doctors, accountants, and baseball players, the letters MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), and ERA (earned run average), respectively, need no explanation.