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4 - Air Power for a United Nations

The International Air Force during the Second World War

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2021

Waqar H. Zaidi
Affiliation:
Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
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Summary

Chapter Four explores proposals for the creation of a postwar United Nations air force in Britain and the United States during the Second World War. Aviation, the chapter shows, emerged as a central component of internationalist campaigns for the creation of a postwar international security organization. Allied aerial ascendancy appeared to offer the opportunity, and the aeroplane the perfect tool, for the creation of a new system of collective security and international governance. By examining discussions and proposals within internationalist organizations and state planning committees, the chapter examines the coalition of interests which formed in support of the force. In the United States, it was supported by proponents of international law and of a strong United Nations Organization, and by a lobby keen to see the expanded wartime aviation industry used for postwar peacekeeping. In Britain meanwhile support was built on visions of joint Anglo-American policing of the world, and hopes of British influence over an integrated postwar Europe. An international air force was incorporated into the blueprint for a United Nations Organization at the 1944 Dumbarton Oaks Conference, and although the force was never formed it remains a part of the United Nations Charter to this day.

Type
Chapter
Information
Technological Internationalism and World Order
Aviation, Atomic Energy, and the Search for International Peace, 1920–1950
, pp. 107 - 146
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Air Power for a United Nations
  • Waqar H. Zaidi, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
  • Book: Technological Internationalism and World Order
  • Online publication: 25 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108872416.005
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  • Air Power for a United Nations
  • Waqar H. Zaidi, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
  • Book: Technological Internationalism and World Order
  • Online publication: 25 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108872416.005
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Air Power for a United Nations
  • Waqar H. Zaidi, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan
  • Book: Technological Internationalism and World Order
  • Online publication: 25 May 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108872416.005
Available formats
×