Shortly after the end of WWII, in 1947, the Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance was signed between France and the United Kingdom which served as an alliance in the event of attacks by Germany or the USSR, whereas the perceived German “threat” served as a pretext for defence against the USSR. Just a year later, the Benelux countries joined the Treaty, thereby creating the Western Union. The United States of America, now pursuing their foreign policy under the Truman Doctrine, had become increasingly interested in a wider military alliance, which resulted in the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on the 4th of April 1949, which included members of the Western Union as well as Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal and the US, ultimately forming the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, 2022). NATO did not have a truly integrated military structure until the Korean War, which also saw Greece and Turkey join the Treaty and Organization.

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After West Germany was allowed to militarily rearm, they acceded to NATO in 1955, instrumental in the creation of the Warsaw Pact, the USSR’s equivalent to NATO. Throughout the course of the Cold War, some European states’ trust in America ebbed at times, resulting in France’s withdrawal from NATO’s military structure in 1966. The latest event preceding the events of this committee was newly democratised Spain, which joined the alliance in 1982. This committee will be conducting business from November 6th, 1989, onwards in leadup to and the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism in Europe.