The world is witnessing not only a population explosion but a family planning revolution. For the first time in history there is concrete evidence that people throughout most of the world accept the need for family planning and desire that family planning services be made available to them. And for the first time in history we have the technical means to implement family planning programs—the pill, the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD), and other methods. Moreover, research now under way suggests that reliance on a contraceptive pill that must be taken daily or an IUCD that is presently unsatisfactory to 25 percent of those using it will some day be of only historical interest—mere shadows reflecting the dim dark ages in the history of family planning. Already researchers have had success with an injectable contraceptive that provides long-standing immunity from pregnancy.

The second session of the Assembly of the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) was held in London from April 5–14, 1961. Mr. W. L. de Vries, Director-General of Shipping in the Netherlands Ministry of Transport, was elected President of the session and Mr. Ove Nielson, Secretary-General of IMCO, acted as secretary. The Assembly elected Argentina, Australia, India, and the Soviet Union to fill out the sixteen-member Council on which Belgium, Canada, France, West Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States were already represented. The Assembly: 1) established a Credentials Committee consisting of Canada, Japan, Liberia, Poland, and Turkey; 2) adopted a budget for 1962–1963 of $892,-350; 3) approved Mauritania's application for membership by a two-thirds vote following the rule that non-members of the United Nations had to be approved by such a vote after recommendation by the Council; and 4) in view of the advisory opinion of June 8, 1960, of the International Court of Justice to the effect that the Maritime Safety Committee was improperly constituted, dissolved the committee and elected Argentina, Canada, France, West Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Liberia, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States to the reconstituted committee. The Assembly during its second session also approved an expanded work program submitted by the IMCO Council including new duties connected with international travel and transport, with special reference to the simplification of ship's papers. The Assembly asked IMCO to study the arrangements for the maintenance of certain light beacons used for navigation at the southern end of the Red Sea which were being maintained by the United Kingdom with the help of the Netherlands. Also under consideration was a new convention on the safety of life at sea submitted to the Assembly by a Conference on Safety of Life at Sea and containing a number of recommendations to IMCO on studies relating to such matters as ship construction, navigation, and other technical subjects on safety at sea. The Assembly decided that in conjunction with United Nations programs of technical cooperation the UN should be informed that IMCO was in a position to provide advice and guidance on technical matters affecting shipping engaged in international trade.

The 34th session of the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was held in Rome, October 17–27, 1960. Noting that this was the fifteenth anniversary of FAO-the first specialized agency to be set up by United Nations governments, the Council urged all nations to increase their active support of the organization and to participate fully in the Freedom-From-Hunger Campaign. In adopting the report of the Committee on Commodity Problems, the Council once again expressed concern at the adverse effects of the worsening in recent years of the ratio of agricultural product prices to those of other goods and at the slow growth of markets for agricultural exports in the industrial countries. The Council was reminded of the Special Fund projects for which FAO already was, or was to become, the executing agency; they included an inter-regional desert locust project and regional projects pertaining to 1) agricultural education in Latin America, and 2) animal health in the Near East. Concerning the report on the Freedom-From-Hunger Campaign, delegates stressed the need for strengthened planning with respect to the projects undertaken within the framework of the Campaign. The Council also heard reports on: the control of foot-and-mouth disease; FAO's joint programs with the UN Children's Emergency Fund; recent developments in the organization of international work in oceanography; and program appraisals, inter alia. Resolutions were adopted on the following subjects: 1) the provision of food surpluses to food-deficient peoples; and 2) administrative and financial matters, including approval for the setting up of a joint policy committee on oceanography by FAO and the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

Les derniers mois de 1960, les premiers mois de 1961 ont suffi a provoquer, dans l'histoire des Nations Unies, un tournant spectaculaire et peut-etre decisif, bien qu'il soit encore fort difficile de discerner la direction dans laquelle l'Organisation internationale va se trouver engagée. Au moment où ces lignes étaient écrites, les changements d'atmosphere et de perspectives etaient deja impressionnants. La diplomatic sovietique a été le moteur principal de cette evolution, l'affaire du Congo, l'occasion, ou le levier, la position du Secrétariat et de son chef, l'objectif. Car on ne saurait douter que si la personne de M. Dag Hammarskjöld est aussi violemment mise en cause, c'est, à travers elle, l'institution qu'il incarne et à laquelle il avait su conferer un prestige et des moyens d'action sans précédent qui est visée et c'est ce qui fait la gravite de la crise. Aussi n'est-il pas inutile, peut-etre, au moment où, passees les premières protestations, certains commencent à penser que des changements sont inévitables, de se demander ce qui est réellement en jeu. Pour ce faire, force est de se tourner d'abord vers le passé et de considérer comment s'est formée, dans la pratique des Nations Unies, la fonction politique dont ont été charges le Secretariat et surtout son chef. Nous devrons ensuite examiner les attaques dont elle a été l'objet et apprécier les propositions de réforme qui ont été avancées.

The Conference of Directors of the International Meteorological Organization, meeting in Washington, D.C., on September 22, 1947, formulated and opened for signature on October 11, 1947, the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization, an intergovernmental body which as a specialized agency was to continue the functions of the semi-official International Meteorological Organization. The Final Act of the Conference suspended the rights of the Director of the Spanish Meteorological Service in accordance with the resolution of the General Assembly of December 12, 1946, and provided for the convening of the first meeting of the Congress of the World Meteorological Organization immediately upon the coming into force of the Convention. The projected organization was to consist of 1) the World Meteorological Congress, which would convene at least every four years to adopt technical regulations covering meteorological practices and procedures, and to determine general policies for the fulfilment of the purposes of the organization; 2) the Executive Committee, which would meet at least once a year to supervise the execution of the resolutions of the Congress, adopt resolutions arising from the recommendations of the technical commissions of the organization, provide technical information and assistance in the field of meteorology, and study matters affecting international meteorology and the operation of meteorological services; 3) regional associations meeting as often as necessary to promote the execution of the resolutions of the Congress and the Executive Committee in their respective regions, to coordinate meteorological and associated activities and to make recommendations to the Congress and the Committee on matters within the purpose of the organization; 4) technical commissions to be established by the Congress to study and make recommendations on any subject within the scope of the organization; and 5) a permanent secretariat. The future status of the organization as a specialized agency was provided for in Article 25 of the Convention.

Air transport across national boundaries has increased greatly in scope and intensity since the end of World War II. Although the vast majority of such transport involves private individuals and corporations, governments play a major role in the process. They act as producers, consumers, and regulators of air transport; they have become one of the primary actors in the process. The participation of governments has greatly modified the environment and processes through which carriage is accomplished. Governments have been involved in the establishment of such organizations as die International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a supranational organization in a narrowly limited way, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an international association of airlines, many of which are, in fact, owned or controlled by governments.

The following summary covers the activities of the Security Council at its 707th meeting on December 16, 1955, and from its 709th meeting on December 22, 1955, through its 716th meeting on February 6, 1956.

UNCTAD provides a unique focus for studying the response of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) to the New International Economic Order. Not only has UNCTAD played a role in stimulating East-South trade links since its foundation in 1964 but the East European members of the CMEA, collectively incarnated at UNCTAD as Group D, have there transformed their behavior with respect to the less developed countries. This transformation is evident in the evolution of Group D's position across four sets of negotiations: those on commodities trade and the Common Fund, on the Generalized System of Preferences, on the Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences, and on the Code of Conduct for Transfer of Technology. Contrasts between the conduct of the CMEA and that of the EEC at UNCTAD highlight the significance of Group D's use of international law to remake the world trade system. Implicit in this strategy is the question of domestic state trading structures, which appears to be a principal factor motivating issue-specific coalitions at UNCTAD between the CMEA countries and the Group of 77. The CMEA countries use UNCTAD to reinforce their sovereign prerogatives as states in a transnational world, refashioning at the same time the transnational environment in which states conduct mutual relations, in order to reconstruct in their own favor the international regimes governing various aspects of trade and development.

Compelling as mathematical representations may seem to some interested in the “automaticity” of integration processes, to other empirical theorists they seem anything but obviously relevant. Yet there is a clear trend toward greater use of formal reasoning in both measurement and modeling work on integration processes. Juxtaposing a variety of such integration logics—the mathematical formulae and conceptual abstractions incorporated in assessments of integration progress and regress—should help achieve the major purpose of this article: to introduce students to a variety of possible integration logics, some of their possible interrelationships, and the limitations of some of the simpler ones vis-à-vis current verbal theories of the integration process.

The twenty-sixth annual report of the Bank for International Settlements was published on June II, 1956. In its survey of the year April 1, 1955—March 31, 1956, the report declared that the most important feature of 1955 was that the effect of an economic boom in North America had been superimposed on the powerful forces for expansion operating in western Europe. There was a definite need, however, for measures which would moderate the boom without weakening the forces tending to promote healthy economic growth. For this reason, direct internal or external controls had not been reapplied by the authorities and trade had been further liberalized, while restrictions on foreign payments had also been further relaxed. There had been a continuation of flexibility in credit policies pursued by the authorities who had employed methods of credit restraint, such as increased interest rates.

The seventh session of the Ministerial Council of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), formerly known as the Baghdad Pact, was held in Washington, D. C., October 7–9, 1959. In its communiqué issued following the meeting, the Council welcomed the conclusion of bilateral agreements between the United States and the regional members, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, noting with gratification the determination of die United States to assist the signatory nations to maintain their security and independence, while simultaneously contributing to die enhancement of their economic potential. The statement emphasized that CENTO existed solely for defensive purposes, that it threatened no one, and that it sincerely desired to have close and friendly relations with all other states, particularly with the neighboring states in the region.

The Bretton Woods institutions were set up long before physical warfare ceased. They are part of a wider undertaking to further international cooperation in the postwar world. Befitting its imposing influence, the United States took a prominent part in this enterprise. The overall design lending coherence to the blueprints for economic collaboration is predominantly of American authorship. It is too early yet to assess the worth of these blueprints and the merits of American policy, but even now it isclear that some of the new institutions may not function as intended. Adverse and unforeseen circumstances may force either drastic revision or failure. According to some observers, the companion agencies established at Bretton ”Woods belong in this category.

The Council of Ministers of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) held its third meeting in Geneva from February 14 to 16, 1961, under the chairmanship of Mr. Maudling, President of the Board of Trade of the United Kingdom. The main topics of discussion were 1) the advancement of the timetable for the reduction and elimination of tariffs within EFTA, and 2) the proposed association of Finland with EFTA. The Ministerial Council decided to bring forward by six months to July 1, 1961, the date by which the next 10 percent reductions were to be made in the tariffs applied within EFTA. The Ministers stated in the final communiqué of the meeting that the Council should pursue at official level the examination of the possibility of advancing the timetable for reducing and eliminating the tariffs applied within EFTA. The basic objective was to ensure that by January 1, 1970, if not before, goods manufactured within the area would be traded among the seven as if no frontiers existed. The Council agreed that this examination should be carried out at the same time as the following studies previously planned for 1961 in accordance with other provisions of the EFTA convention: 1) dismantling quantitative restrictions; 2) abolishing subsidized agricultural exports; and 3) facilitating the expansion of trade in agricultural goods. The Ministers also reached agreement on the form of association to be offered to Finland. Under the formula decided upon, Finland would in no sense be a member of EFTA but would have an ultimately tariff-free market for her exports in the seven EFTA countries. A separate free trade area was to be formed between Finland on the one hand and the seven EFTA members on the other, and a special council was to be created for matters affecting Finland alone. Finland would not be treated as an EFTA member but would be allowed to retain its existing trade agreements with the Soviet Union without exposing EFTA members to an irresistible demand for the same benefits. On March 27, 1961, it was announced by the press that Finland had signed the agreement linking her with EFTA.

The United Nations is approaching a point where a decision must soon be reached concerning the expansion of its present facilities. Notwithstanding the increases which have been made in delegate seating in the General Assembly Hall, the Council chambers, and the conference rooms in recent years, these are now filled almost to capacity as additional political entities have been accorded membership. The delegates' lounge and dining room are uncomfortably crowded during Assembly sessions. In the Secretariat the staffs of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) have been moved to rented quarters in order to relieve overcrowding and to obtain adequate working space. The Secretary-General has reported to the General Assembly that the Headquarters buildings are now “completely occupied” and that plans must be made to provide adequate office space for the personnel expected to be on hand in the 1970's, assuming that the United Nations continues to remain an active force in international affairs.

Meeting at the request of the representatives of Canada and Denmark, the Security Council discussed the situation in the Middle East at its 1341st-1361st meetings, held on May 24-June 14, 1967.

Opening the debate on the adoption of the agenda, Nikolai T. Fedorenko (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) declared that his delegation did not believe there were sufficient grounds for a hasty convening of the Security Council in what he termed an artificially dramatic climate fostered by the representatives of certain Western powers. He observed that two members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), rather than any of the parties directly concerned, had asked for a meeting of the Council. To his delegation this indicated a desire to interfere in the affairs of other countries rather than a true concern for the peace and security of the Middle East.

If the United Nations system is to outlaw the unilateral use of force, except in cases of self-defense, it is clear that some provision must be made for the peaceful settlement of disputes and for peaceful change. In the past, peacekeeping operations have often succeeded in restoring a fragile peace. Yet collective actionall too frequently has been limited to a restoration of the status quo ante. Indeed, states have usuallyfailed to accept any collective responsibility to deal with the grievances that initially led to the outbreak of hostilities. If peace is to be maintained over any extended period of time, peacekeeping operations must not, asAmbassador Arthur J. Goldberg recently warned, “be a sofa to provide a comfortable respite from efforts atpeaceful settlement” but instead should “be a springboard for accelerated efforts to eliminate the root causes of conflict.”

In his Introduction to the Annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization, 16 June 1965–15 June 1966 Secretary-General U Thant observed that the year under review had been a period in which the prospects for the peace and well-being of mankind suffered disappointments which seemed to outweigh once again the modest gains made in some directions. Describing the international political situation, Mr. Thant said that the cloud over Vietnam had grown larger and more ominous. The serious open conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir had calmed, but tensions had been heightened and violence had erupted elsewhere. Nuclear as well as conventional armaments developed apace. Furthermore, comparatively little happened during the year to brighten the outlook of those who occupied the two-thirds of the world where poverty, disease, ignorance, and lack of opportunity were the most conspicuous facts of daily life. Generally speaking, during this period the powerful nations did not show themselves able to overcome the suspicions, fears, and mistrust that sprang from their different ideologies and from their different conceptions of the best interests of the rest of the world; the rich nations did not rise above their concern for the continuation of their own prosperity, nor did the poor nations escape from the dead weight of their chronic poverty and their anachronistic social structures. Against such a background the international community, still incompletely represented by the United Nations, made only limited progress in those areas such as peacekeeping, disarmament, economic and social development, decolonization, and human rights where most was expected of it.

With this issue, the editorial offices of International Organization (IO) move from the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University in the United States to the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto in Canada. For the past five years, Lisa Martin has done an outstanding job in leading the journal to its current top-ranked position in the field. As editor-in-chief, Lisa was assisted not only by Rebecca Webb, an excellent managing editor, but also by two superb associate editors, Thomas Risse from the Free University in Berlin and Beth Yarbrough from Amherst College. We are grateful to them all for their hard work and dedication.