Manchester University Press - Instruments of international order

During the first half of the twentieth century, world politics was reshaped in pursuit of a new international order. The ideological foundations of the 'new diplomacy' (and its fate during the interwar period) are well known. This book instead examines the practices of internationalism and diplomacy from the First Hague Conference of 1899 to the aftermath of the Second World War. By focusing on these practices, such as disarmament regimes or public diplomacy, and their use as instruments to build international order(s), it emphasises the constructed, contested, and experimental character of what subsequently became a standard repertoire of international politics. Essays from a range of interdisciplinary scholars address well-established principles such as self-determination, and also less prominent practices such as small arms control or parliamentary inquiry. The book makes a major contribution to the growing historiography on twentieth-century internationalism.

Reviews

'This terrific book brings to bear on international history numerous insights from global history regarding sub-state actors, supranational organizations, and transnational connections. If League of Nations agencies feature prominently, so do the ideas that informed them - of self-determination, of sovereignty, of supranational oversight, and of societal difference. Other chapters consider cognate shifts in international order, their unifying concern being with issues of prohibition and prevention. The result is a cohesive edited collection, whose preoccupation with 'instruments of international order' helps us rethink how twentieth-century international relations was conceived and practiced.'
Martin Thomas, author of The End of Empires and a World Remade: A Global History of Decolonization

'Bringing together fresh voices from multiple disciplines, Instruments of International Order admirably integrates international history and international relations. Richly researched, theoretically informed, and thoughtfully ambitious, each of the volume's contributions offers a lively perspective on the early twentieth century, as practitioners developed and implemented new instruments in the hope of building a better world.'
Professor Christopher Capozzola, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Preface

Introduction
1 Becoming National: self-determination as a tool in international politics
Georgios Giannakopoulos
2 The League of Nations and the new uses of sovereignty
Lukas Schemper
3 Ascertaining the Truth in Albania: Inquiry as a League of Nations Instrument of International Order
Quincy R. Cloet
4 The chemical weapons discourse as an instrument of international order: the Second Italo-Ethiopian War
Anneleen van der Meer
5 "Weapons Misused by Barbarous Races": Disarmament, Imperialism, and Race in the Interwar Period
Daniel Stahl
6 Colonial Policy and International Control: The American Philippines and Multilateral Drug Treaties, 1909-1931
Eva Ward
7 In the Eyes of the World: Media Oversight and Diplomatic Practices at the League of Nations Assembly
Robert Laker
8 The League of Nations and the Advisory Opinion of the Permanent Court of International Justice as "Preventive Adjudication"?
Gabriela A. Frei
9 With or without the Métropole: deferred sovereignty as instrument of racial governance
Pablo de Orellana

Editors

Thomas W. Bottelier is Marie Curie Fellow at Sciences Po Paris
Jan Stöckmann is Head of the Director's Office at the German Council on Foreign Relations