The First World War and the Discussions on Establishing the Universal International Organization
Abstract
Traditionally, historians begin the League of Nations’ history with the postwar settlement and the creation of the Versailles system. However, the continuity exists between the First World War and the emergence of international organization. There was no steady institution of multilateral diplomacy for the international arbitration before the War. The Hague Peace Conferences (1899, 1907) were not able to create strong international institutions. The ways out of the Great War and the mechanisms of preventing its repetition had to be looked for in the bloody conflict. The situation in the USA and in the UK differed significantly. The censorship rules that did not allow publishing essays about peace or any negotiations with the enemy were introduced. In the US they could freely discuss these issues. In the US the university academicians, businessmen, and representatives of various faiths, and prominent politicians were involved in the discussions. In the UK, the League of Nations theme was discussed by the pressure groups such as Fabian Society and selected intellectuals such as Leonard Woolf. During 1916–1917 the views of the governments and various social organizations about the League of Nations significantly differed. The public opinion and social groups demanded the creation of the international organization immediately, or as part of the post-war settlement structure. The UK government recognized the need for the creation of the League of Nations only as a part of the United States involving into the war and the strengthening of the British Empire. As a result of the League of Nations carried out signs of hybridity in a dangerous form.
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