The origins and development of Australia's policy and posture at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, San Francisco, 1945

Abstract

This thesis is centred on antecedents It is a study of the origins and development of Australia's policy and posture at San Francisco. As such, it does not provide a detailed exposition of Australia's participation in the Conference, although, in the course of establishing Australia's policy and posture at the Conference its elf, it gives close attention to Dr Evatt's activities prior to the commencement of detailed discussions in the technical committees. The distinction made in the title between Australia's 'policy', that is the actual points put forward, and 'posture', the general attitude adopted by Evatt, at San Francisco suggested itself from a reading of comments by a number of writers on Evatt's participation in the Conference. Thus Nicholas Mansergh notes his 'bitter campaign against great-power pretensions; William T.R. Fox says that he 'thundered' and speaks of him 'playing the role of David in the San Francisco version of the David and Goliath story'; while F.H. Soward writes that 'Canada was less vehement or obdurate than Australia in the debates at San Francisco upon such questions as the exercise of the veto by the great powers'. That an aggressive smal1-power posture was an outstanding characteristic of Australia's presence at San Francisco is generally conceded. As H.S. Albinski has it 'At the Conference Australia had, in fact, assumed the self appointed role of champion of the small nations'. Harper and Sissons have written likewise 'Australia consistently championed the role of the middle and smaller powers often deliberately seeking leadership'. An interest in explaining the origins of Evatt's posture has been increased by the belief that this posture, in addition to Australia's policies, contributed to his emergence as one of the outstanding figures at San Francisco.