EN
The United States took upon themselves the effort to shape the postwar international order already during the Second World War. Therefore the end of the war made a demand on the American politics to meet new challenges on the international arena. The enormous potential of the USA in 1945 and a new geopolitical situation, the threat posed by the Soviet Union included, compelled America to assume the role of a global power with all its consequences. Only the United States could cope with the new responsibilities in international relations. It meant for America a departure from its traditional principle of isolationism and involvement in world affairs on an unprecedented scale. In this way America became for the n ext decades a major if not the main creator and factor of international order.