Abstract
In contrast to previous state-centric accounts, this article sheds new transnational light on the 1919 Paris peace settlement through its investigation of proposals for transnational associations’ roles in the envisaged new world order. The popularity of some of these proposals, and their perceived potential to contribute towards a more democratic, legitimate and peaceful international order, stimulated their consideration during official negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference, and subsequent League of Nations practice was also perceived to have reflected some of the ideas put forward in the proposals. This article provides a typology of these proposals, and it critically evaluates the claims made with respect to their repercussions for democracy, legitimacy and peace. The article further elucidates how, despite their limitations, these proposals helped open up diplomacy to transnational associations both at the Paris Peace Conference and in the League of Nations era.
Highlights
Given its status as one of the ‘benchmark’ events in modern international history,[1] the 1919 Paris Peace Conference is the subject of a rich and diverse historical literature, including assessments of the preparations and policies of participating states,[2] the course of the negotiations,[3] and the repercussions of the settlement,[4] among many other aspects
Some of the most significant unofficial proposals were put forward by leaders of transnational associations such as the International Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU),[9] the Union of International Associations (UIA),[10] and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF),[11] each of which are explored in this article
In contrast to better-known state-centric proposals for a new world order based on intergovernmental co-operation and organisation,[106] the proposals regarding transnational associations investigated in this article considered the potential role of politics beyond states in bringing about a more legitimate, democratic and peaceful order in the aftermath of the First World War
Summary
Given its status as one of the ‘benchmark’ events in modern international history,[1] the 1919 Paris Peace Conference is the subject of a rich and diverse historical literature, including assessments of the preparations and policies of participating states,[2] the course of the negotiations,[3] and the repercussions of the settlement,[4] among many other aspects. In contrast to the focus in existing literature on transnational associations’ plans for intergovernmental organisations in the peace settlement, this article focuses on proposals regarding the place of transnational associations in the institutional framework of the planned post-war order. In so doing, it aims to offer a novel transnational perspective on a peace settlement primarily known for its implications for organisation and relations of states. 16 Union of International Associations, ‘Transnational Associations’, Transnational Associations, 29, 1–2 (1977), 3; Paul Otlet, ‘L’organisation internationale et les associations internationales’, in Office Central des Institutions Internationales, ed., Annuaire de la vie internationale, 1908–1909 (Brussels: Office Central des Institutions Internationales, 1909), 46
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