VI. Concluding Observations 



The discovery of nuclear fission and its subsequent military appli- 

 cation by the United States altered the balance of power among the 

 major nations of the world and gave to the United States a few brief 

 years of exclusive possession of a military weapon of truly revolution- 

 ary potency. During this transitional period and until the present era 

 of nuclear stalemate, American diplomacy was able to function from 

 a position of great military strength with little need to make conces- 

 sions. 



One of the first impacts of the discovery upon American diplomacy 

 was the task accepted by U.S. diplomats of doing what they could to 

 bring the nations of the world into sufficient agreement to establish 

 the international control of nuclear energy. Examination of their un- 

 successful attempt to do so suggests several observations about the im- 

 pact of science and technology upon American diplomacy and inter- 

 national relations. 



In this examination, it is necessary to be aware of a distinction be- 

 tween two questions associated with international control of atomic 

 energy and the issue of the interplay among science, technology, and 

 diplomacy. First one can examine the events surrounding the Baruch 

 plan as they exemplify the impact on diplomacy of an unprecedented 

 technological achievement, the atom bomb. The second consideration 

 arises from the fact that there were certain technological principles of 

 atomic energy which determined the necessary technological character- 

 istics of the control system. One might call this area the "technology 

 of control.'* Thus, the second question to consider is the interaction 

 between the technology of control and the conduct of the diplomatic 

 negotiations to establish a control system. A recognition of this distinc- 

 tion in terms of the scope of this study is important to an understand- 

 ing of the following discussion. 

 I in pact of New Technologies on I nt, motional Relations 



In light of the way the discoveries associated with atomic energy gal- 

 vanized U.S. diplomacy and stimulated an extended and global diplo- 

 matic effort, this case suggests that the creation and application of 

 new technologies arising from scientific discoveries may so change re- 

 lations among nations that a system of international control of that 

 technology becomes desirable to one or more parties. Nuclear en- 

 ergy is neither the first nor the last example of a technological innova- 

 tion suggesting the desirability of international machinery and proce- 

 dures for controlling it. Hut it is probably the most dramatic example 

 to date."" 



On the other hand, the fact that the diplomatic effort arose out of 

 the discovery of fission, a radical development in itself, did not change 

 the basic function of diplomacy or the behavior of diplomats. The U.S. 



""Other examples would include aviation, warships, supertankers, ami communications 



satellites. 



( us) 



