Internationalism Reconfigured: Transnational Ideas and Movements Between the World Wars

Review

""[This book] offers a very nuanced picture of the variety of internationalist actors and agencies of the early post-war period in a highly comparative framework. In presenting their individual case studies the well-chosen international contributors dare to acknowledge on the one hand the great idealistic potential and influence of the League of Nations and to point on the other hand to its sometimes rather limited practical efficiency. All in all, the book is a very good read and offers a nice introduction into the topic both for academics as well as for students."" - Friederike Kind-Kovács, Archiv für Sozialgeschichte

Product Description

Many historians have downplayed the significance of interwar internationalism. They have presented the League of Nations and the campaigns of internationally-minded groups as idealistic failures in an age that was characterised by international tension and aggressive nationalisms. This book challenges such narratives by assessing transnational projects that were launched or transformed after World War One, particularly the interaction of the League of Nations with specific groups or associations. The authors reveal the different rationales and stimuli for international cooperation in this period. With fresh research from several European countries, this book makes an original contribution to the transnational history of the interwar years.

About the Author

Daniel Laqua is Associate Professor of European History at Northumbria University, UK. He is the author of The Age of Internationalism and Belgium, 1880–1930: Peace, Progress and Prestige.