International History

The League of Nations: A Retreat from International Law?

by Stephen Wertheim

forthcoming in Journal of Global History Vol. 7 No. 2 (2012)

During the First World War, civil society groups across the North Atlantic put forward an array of plans for recasting... more During the First World War, civil society groups across the North Atlantic put forward an array of plans for recasting international society. The most prominent ones sought to build on the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907 by developing international legal codes and, in a drastic innovation, obligating and militarily enforcing the judicial settlement of disputes. Their ideal was a world governed by law, which they opposed to politics. This idea was championed by the largest groups in the United States and France in favor of international organization, and they had likeminded counterparts in Britain. The Anglo-American architects of the League of Nations, however, defined their vision against legalism. Their declaratory design sought to ensure that artificial machinery never stifled the growth of common consciousness. Paradoxically, the bold new experiment in international organization was forged from an anti-formalistic ethos — one that slowed the momentum of international law and portended the rise of global governance.

8. Romanian Diplomacy – An Illustrated History, 1862-1947

by Rudolf Dinu

în colaborare cu Dinu C. Giurescu şi Laurentiu Constantiniu, Bucharest, Monitorul Oficial R. A., 2010, 343 pp.

An Illustrated History of the Romanian Diplomacy (1862-1947) gives a large, illustrated view of the Romanian diplomacy... more An Illustrated History of the Romanian Diplomacy (1862-1947) gives a large, illustrated view of the Romanian diplomacy since the creation of the Romanian modern state – by the union of the Moldavian and Wallachian Principalities (1859) – until the complete integration of Romania in the soviet hegemony sphere at the beginning of the Cold War (1947). The book is divided into three chapters. The first chapter, “Overview”, offers a general presentation of the Romanian diplomacy, emphasizing the important moments throughout a century in the general European backround (1848-1947). The second chapter, “Romanian Diplomacy During the Old Kingdom (1878-1914)” presents the evolution of the Romanian diplomacy after gaining independency (1877-1878), when Romania began to manifest itself as an independent actor, until the beginning of the First World War (1914). The last chapter, “Romanian Diplomacy During 1914-1947” is about the efforts of the Romanian diplomacy since the beginning of the First World War (1914) until Romania entered definitively in the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union (1947). The English edition of the book was published in December 2010 and was sent to all Romanian legations abroad in order to be distributed to important libraries and academic institutions in the respective countries. The authors illustrated the book with many pictures which convey – and at the same time, revive – events, diplomatic and political personalities, and the very climate of that time, in order to restore, as close to the reality as possible, the situations of the past. Based on rich documentation, diplomatic sources and literature, the book represents an essential tool for specialists, but also an agreeable reading for the general public.

15. O istorie ilustrată a diplomaţiei româneşti (1862-1947)

by Rudolf Dinu

Dinu Giurescu, Rudolf Dinu, Laurenţiu Constantiniu, ISBN 978-973-567-759-6, Bucuresti, Monitorul Oficial, 2011, 343 pp.

6. Studi italo-romeni. Diplomazia e società, 1879-1914

by Rudolf Dinu

second edition, Bucureşti, Editura Militară, 2009, 456 pp.

1. 35 anni di relazioni italo-romene, 1879-1914. Documenti Diplomatici Italiani

by Rudolf Dinu

a cura di Rudolf DINU, Ion BULEI, Bucureşti, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 2001: XXV+606 pp.

7. Documente Diplomatice Române, seria I, vol. 12 (1884-85)

by Rudolf Dinu

editat de  Rudolf Dinu (coord.), Alin Ciupală, Antal Lukacs, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Ed. Conphys Press, 2010: CCXCVIII+957 pp.

4. Documente Diplomatice Române, seria I, vol. 11 (1883)

by Rudolf Dinu

editat de  Rudolf Dinu (coord.), Alin Ciupală, Antal Lukacs, Bucureşti, Ed. Academiei Române, 2006: CXC+600 pp.

25. „Elita diplomatică a Vechiului Regat în corespondenţa privată. (1) Alexandru Marghiloman (1900-1901)”

by Rudolf Dinu

in Revista Istorică, nr. 3, 2011

The present study focuses on the use of private correspondence in the XIX century diplomacy. It discusses the role of... more The present study focuses on the use of private correspondence in the XIX century diplomacy. It discusses the role of private correspondence, in particular the one between diplomats and the Sovereign, respectively between diplomats and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the purpose of defending State’s secrets and rationalizing decision by avoiding the administrative control outside the epistemological community of decision makers and diplomats. It also underlines the importance of private correspondence as source in the analyze of the way foreign policy was designed and implemented in the XIX century. Key words: secret diplomacy, diplomatic elite, decision making process, private, correspondence.

23. “Il modello italiano” nella proclamazione del Regno di Romania (1881)”

by Rudolf Dinu

in Franceso Guida (a cura di), Italia e Romania verso l’Unità nazionale. Atti del convegno di studi in occasione del 150° anniversario dell’Unità d’Italia, Bucureşti, Humanitas, 2011, pp. 124-148.

22. “Italia e Romania nella Triplice Alleanza. Breve storia dell’accessione italiana al trattato austro-romeno del 1883”

by Rudolf Dinu

in Ion Cârjă (ed.), Unità nazionale e modernità nel Risorgimento italiano e romeno, Cluj-Napoca, Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2011, pp. 163-179

21. „Diplomaţia Vechiului Regat, 1878-1914: management, obiective, evoluţie”

by Rudolf Dinu

in Gh. Cliveti, Bogdan Ceobanu, Ionuţ Nistor (coord.), Cultură, politică  şi societate în timpul domniei lui Carol I. 130 de ani de la proclamarea Regatului Român, Iaşi, 2011, pp. 121-146

19. “L’Italia e l’Oriente europeo: iniziative politiche entro e fuori la Triplice Alleanza Le relazioni con la Romania, 1908-1911”

by Rudolf Dinu

in A. Basciani, A. D’Alessandri (edited by), Balcani 1908. Alle origini di un secolo di conflitti, Trieste, Beit, 2010: 59-78; 186-191

18. Romania’s way from neutrality to war. An analysis regarding the evolution of Romanian foreign policy, 1912-1916

by Rudolf Dinu

in Christophe Prochasson et Florin Ţurcanu(coordinateurs), La Grande Guerre. Histoire et mémoire collective en France et en Roumanie, Bucureşti, New Europe College, 2010, pp. 9-17

14. “Modernité et tradition dans la politique étrangère du Vieux Royaume. Structures et mécanismes de décision”

by Rudolf Dinu

Transylvanian Review, vol. XVII, nr. 1, 2008: 62-78

15. „King Charles I and Decision Making Process in the Romanian Foreign Policy before the First World War”

by Rudolf Dinu

Revista Arhivelor, LXXXV (2008), nr. 2: 121-139

Stato-nazione e mobilità degli studenti universitari dall’Unità alla Repubblica. La situazione degli studi

by Andrea Mariuzzo

on StoricaMente, peer-reviewed on-line journal of History Department of the University of Bologna, n. 7, 2011

The essay deals with the development of international mobility programs for Italian university students in... more The essay deals with the development of international mobility programs for Italian university students in post-unification Italy. Considering the most important studies addressing the topic, the author highlights the attempts of the Italian government to promote state-controlled programs of international experience for the most talented students, both in the liberal and in the fascist era, in order to avoid the "peripherization" of the country in the academic world. However, he recognizes their failure in the competition with the emerging American foundations' international fellowships, which would become the model for post-WWII "denationalization" of university training.

The rise and fall of "public opinion" as the linchpin of international order: toward a genealogy of the concept, 1870-1940

by Stephen Wertheim

Presented in "Towards a New History of the League of Nations," Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, August 25-26, 2011

Foundational for international lawyers and politicians from 1870 to 1940 was the assumption that "international... more Foundational for international lawyers and politicians from 1870 to 1940 was the assumption that "international public opinion" underpinned international law and international order. By World War II, this faith had died. The realist school of international relations repudiated the old nostrums. But the realists misunderstood what they were rejecting. They assumed "public opinion" had been meant literally, as the momentarily expressed preferences of an aggregated public. In fact, "public opinion" was defined against the literal meaning. It meant the calm, rational judgment of elites — in effect, the intuitions of those who invoked it. This paper proposes a genealogy of the concept of international public opinion as employed by Anglo-American explicators and architects of international society. It divides this history into three phases. The first, from 1870 to 1914, was a legalistic era in which liberal internationalists claimed public opinion both enforced and legitimated international law. The opinion they cherished was not mass preferences but rather accumulated custom, as they interpreted it. Then, during World War I, the principal drafters of the League of Nations Covenant redeployed the language of public opinion in support of international organization. Like the lawyers, they meant "public opinion" more paternalistically than literally. But now the main interpreters of public opinion would be politicians in League councils, not legal scholars or judges. By claiming the mantle of public opinion, the League's creators occluded competing schemes for international organization advanced by legalists and radicals — schemes that were either more serious about the armed enforcement of collective security or more literal in their appeal to public opinion. Finally, in the interwar period, the political conception of public opinion was operationalized through the League, but confidence in opinion was soon shattered by the failure of collective security, the rise of credible fascist and communist alternatives to parliamentary democracy, and, perhaps, the rise of scientific opinion polling. The next generation preferred to base international order on force more than law or opinion.

Is the English School Best Seen as a Form of Proto-Constructivism?

by Filippo Costa Buranelli

please do not quote and/or use without permission

John Maynard Keynes and the New Poland: Pro-German Sentiments at the Treasury

by Leszek Gluchowski

Annotated paper originally presented to the symposium ‘British Perspectives on Poland, 1915-45’ at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University of London, on 14 October 1989.  See Pamiętnik literacki (London), vol. 15 (1990), p. 139, for a report of the conference.

Les Médicis et la France de 1450 à 1600

by Marc H. Smith

Colloque franco-italien Les Médicis et la France, château de Blois, 25 septembre 1999.

Actes non publiés Actes non publiés