Deviating from Neutrality:The Diplomatic Game Between Ireland and the United States,1949—1956
Ireland's permanent neutrality was closely linked to its quest for national unity. Ireland's foreign policy objectives prioritized realizing national unity,maintaining neutrality,strengthening military power,and promoting economic development between 1949 and 1956. In this premise,Ireland refused to join NATO on the grounds of the partition of Northern Ireland,used the preservation of European security and opposition to the Soviet Union as rhetoric to induce the United States to provide it with arms support,and refused to accept mutual security assistance for fear of jeopardizing the principle of neutrality. In contrast,the primary goal of the United States was to dissolve Ireland 's principle of neutrality and bring it into NATO. The turning point in improving Irish-American relations was Ireland accession to the United Nations and the visit of Prime Minister Costello to the United States. Since then,Ireland has gradually leaned towards the United States and deviated more significantly from the principle of neutrality. In Ireland's deviation from neutrality,the United States was the biggest driving force behind it. Ireland's diplomatic and even military"pro-Westernism"contributed in part to the expansion of the Cold War.
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