Des citoyens français à la recherche de la paix durable (1914-1919)

Abstract

Des citoyens français à la recherche de la paix durable (1914-1919) L’hécatombe de la Grande Guerre a stimulé comme jamais la réflexion sur les moyens d’établir une paix durable. Entre l’éclatement du conflit et la formation de la Société des Nations, des centaines de publications, tant chez les belligérants que chez les neutres, témoignent de l’engouement populaire pour les questions de paix et de relations internationales. Cet article, à partir d’un corpus de plus de 150 publications françaises, britanniques et américaines, examine dans une perspective comparative les formes que prennent en France les propositions d’organisation internationale censées garantir la paix. L’analyse se concentre sur trois thèmes centraux de sa conceptualisation, soit l’usage de la force, le problème de la souveraineté nationale et celui du désarmement.

The League of Nations: a retreat from international law?

“…They spent less time discussing the obstacles to implementing a system of enforcement, more often incorporated the nationality principle into their legalistic visions, and more readily took for granted that a post-war organization should exclude the Central Powers until they had disarmed and democratized. 41 French ideas, while both legalist and sanctionist, were somewhat more the latter than the former.…”

The Architects of International Relations

“…64 Unlike bureaucratic elites or national representatives, they tended to adopt policies independent of their own national background. 65 Although there was no formal hierarchy, many were associated with the Central Organisation for a Durable Peace (CODP) which served as a kind of umbrella institution. 66 In April 1915, the CODP held an international conference in The Hague with delegates from ten countries, both neutral and belligerent.…”