The Senate, Treaties and National Security, 1945-1974

The end of the military phase of the 45-year Cold War represents a significant victory for the U.S. and western policy. This book examines selected aspects of this successful policy to gather some lessons that may be applicable in the future to other policy areas. The major framework within which the various individual actions were taken in our national security interest were a series of treaties proposed and enacted over the early years of the Cold War, most of which were enacted before 1974. This book focuses further on the role of the Senate in this process of treaty making as the provider of advice and consent and as the surrogate for the entire legislative branch in this field.