The Oslo Conference, 1955
| Published date | 01 December 1955 |
| Date | 01 December 1955 |
| Author | James A. Gibson |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070205501000404 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
THE
OSLO
CONFERENCE,
1955
James
A.
GCibson*
HERE
is
always
something
heartening
about
a
sense
of
maturity
in
the
discussion of problems
in
international re-
lations.
By
this
standard
the
Oslo
Conference'
on
Western
Democracies
and
World
Problems
set
a
high
standard.
It
was
convened
at
a
moment
when
the
Federal
Republic
of Germany
had
been
admitted
to
full
membership in
NATO; when sovereign-
ty
had
lately
been
restored
to
Austria
as
one
earnest
of
European
recovery,
when
the
United
Nations
was
rounding
out
ten
years
of
activity,
and when
it was
expected
that
the
Geneva
meetings
"at
the
summit"
might
add
to
a
developing
mentality
of
public
confi-
dence
without
overdoing
the
"great
power,"
(or perhaps
more
correctly,
a
"Big
Four")
emphasis in
the
maintenance
of
peace
throughout
the
world.
The
Conference
had
the
additional
ad-
vantage
of
participants
skilled
in
parliamentary
or
international
negotiations:
of
the
forty-four
delegates,
ten
were
or
had
been
members
of
national
parliaments,
thirteen
were
in
academic
posts
and
at
least
twelve
others
had had
a "professional"
con-
nection
either
with
the
conduct of
international
business or
the
serious
study
of
international
affairs.
The
June
sunshine
of
Oslo,
the
sturdy
democratic
spirit
of
the
Norwegian
people,
and
the
ready
currency
of
the
English
language
all
combined to
make
the
Conference
a
pleasant
and
an
enlarging
experience.
For
purposes
of
discussion
the
Conference
was
divided
into
three
groups,
whose
fields
of
reference
may
be
summarized as
follows:
first,
the
"East-West"
problem
in
terms
of
"Western"
and
Soviet
policies;
the
impact
of
new weapons
on
East-West
*Acting
President,
Carleton
College,
Ottawa;
Dean
of
the
Faculty
of
Arts
and
Science,
Carleton
College;
Dr.
Gibson
has
had
an
extensive
diplomatic experience
as
a
member
of
the
Department
of
External
Affairs, as
advisor to
and
private
secretary
of
the
late
W.
L.
Mackenzie
King, and
as
participant
in
UNESCO
activities.
1.
The
Nobel
Institute
of
Norway
arranged
the
Conference
to discuss
Western
Democracies
and
World
Problems
which
met
at
Oslo,
June
13-21.
Forty-four
delegates
from
fifteen
countries were
present
(the
NATO
powers
excluding
Portugal,
Greece,
Turkey, with
Sweden,
Switzerland
and
Finland
added).
The
Canadian
Institute
of
Inter-
national
Affairs,
in response
to
the
Norwegian
invitation,
nominated
as
the
Canadian
delegates
W.
H. Budden
(Montreal)
leader
of
the
delegation,
Marvin
Gelber
(Toronto),
James
A.
Gibson
(Ottawa),
and
R.
W.
Queen-Hughes
(Winnipeg).
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