Britain and the Intellectual Origins of the League of Nations, 1914-1919

"In this innovative account of the origins of the idea of the League of Nations, Sakiko Kaiga casts new light on the pro-League of Nations movement in Britain in the era of the First World War, revealing its unexpected consequences for the development of the first international organisation for peace. Combining international, social, intellectual history and international relations, she challenges two misunderstandings about the role of the movement: that their ideas about a league were utopian and that its peaceful ideal appealed to the war-weary public. Kaiga demonstrates how the original post-war plan consisted of both realistic and idealistic views of international relations, and shows how it evolved and changed in tandem with the war. She provides a comprehensive analysis of the unknown origins of the League of Nations and highlights the transformation of international society and of ideas about war prevention in the twentieth century to the present"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction 1 Precursors: Thinking about War and Peace before 1914 Introduction Networks As the Basis of the Movement From the Just War to Morality in the Renaissance Period Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello: International Lawyers after the Peace of Westphalia A Decision-Making Structure As a Cause of War Developments in the Nineteenth Century Thinking about War on the Eve of the Great War Conclusion 2 The Use of Force to Prevent War?: The Bryce Group's Proposals for the Avoidance of War, 1914-1915 Introduction War-Prevention Measures in the League of Nations Plan 'Realistic' Opinions about Forcible Action: Force As Necessity 'Idealistic' Views about Forcible Action: The Criticism of the Use of Force Mutual Understanding between 'Realistic' and 'Idealistic' Views A 'Realistic' Plan for a Peace Organisation 'Idealistic' Expectations: Peaceful Public Opinion As a War-Prevention Measure Conclusion 3 Strategies for Winning Public Opinion: The Success and the Loss of the League of Nations Society, 1915-1917 Introduction The Foundation and the Aims of the League of Nations Society The League of Nations Society's Strategies to Win Public Opinion Speeches for Popular Support: The First Public Meeting in May 1917 Conclusion 4 A Transnational Movement?: The British and American Pro-League of Nations Groups, 1914-1918 Introduction The Same Goal and the Different Strands of Liberal Internationalism, 1914-1916 Disagreements Based on Different Contexts and Ideas The Changing Situation and the Same Problem, 1917 The Common Scheme, Cooperation and Distrust, 1918 Conclusion 5 No Peace without Victory: The League of Victorious Allies, 1917-1918 Introduction The Split in the League of Nations Society Amalgamation for the League without Germany The League As a Result of Victory and Abolishing Militarism Christian Blessings upon a League without Germany The League of Democratic States The End of the War and of the Original Ideas about the League of Nations Conclusion Conclusion Appendix Key Figures James Bryce Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson Willoughby Dickinson Aneurin Williams David Davies Gilbert Murray H. G. Wells Arthur Ponsonby The Bryce Group's Proposals for the Avoidance of War (Transcript) Proposals for the Avoidance of War Bibliography Unpublished Primary Sources United Kingdom United States Italy Switzerland Published Primary Sources Newspapers and Magazines Pamphlets, Diaries and Memoirs Web Sources Secondary Sources Books Web Sources Theses Journal Articles Index Sakiko Kaiga offers the first full-scale study of the pre-history of the League of Nations. By combining social, intellectual, political history and international relations, she reveals how the pro-League of Nations movement in Britain during the Great War influenced the unexpected development of the first international organisation for peace.