The Emergence of International Society in the 1920s

Daniel Gorman

Aug 2012 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

Chronicling the emergence of an international society in the 1920s, Daniel Gorman describes how the shock of the First World War gave rise to a broad array of overlapping initiatives in international cooperation. Though national rivalries continued to plague world politics, ordinary citizens and state officials found common causes in politics, religion, culture and sport with peers beyond their borders. The League of Nations, the turn to a less centralized British Empire, the beginning of an international ecumenical movement, international sporting events and audacious plans for the abolition of war all signaled internationalism's growth. State actors played an important role in these developments and were aided by international voluntary organizations, church groups and international networks of academics, athletes, women, pacifists and humanitarian activists. These international networks became the forerunners of international NGOs and global governance.

About the author

Daniel Gorman is Associate Professor of History and Political Science at the University of Waterloo and the Balsillie School of International Affairs. He is the author of Imperial Citizenship: Empire and the Question of Belonging (2007). He has contributed essays on aspects of the history of globalization to several books: Mobilities, Knowledge and Social Justice (2012), edited by Suzan Ilcan; Property, Territory, Globalization: Struggles over Autonomy (2011), edited by William Coleman; and Empires and Autonomy: Moments in the History of Globalization (2010), edited by Steven Streeter, John Weaver and William Coleman.