| Title | : | The Politics and Diplomacy of Peacemaking: Containment and Counterrevolution at Versailles, 1918-1919 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 918 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1967 |
| Awards | : | Herbert Baxter Adams Prize (1968) |
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE of the turbulent era of world history opened by Europe's exhaustion in war, the Russian Revolution, and the American intervention, Arno J. Mayer presents a thoroughly documented analysis of the politics and diplomacy of peacemaking in 1918-19. He shows that in order to make sense of the diplomatic deliberations and decisions of the Paris Peace Conference they must be viewed in the larger context of the universal confrontation of revolution and counterrevolution of reform and reaction, set off by the Bolshevik Revolution. Rejecting the methods of conventional diplomatic history, the author stresses the inexorably interplay of domestic politics and foreign policy as well as the mainsprings, purposes, and methods of intervention in their countries which characterize statecraft under conditions of international civil war and mass politics.
It was against a background of unanticipated crisis that the Big Four and their advisers negotiated what they hoped would be a lasting peace. World War I had struck deep at the foundations of social and economic life in Europe. The Western intelligentsia and political class did not realize how much of the old system was dead, and how much it had to be remade. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia was followed by the nationalist rebellions throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the November Revolution in Germany; the Kemalist Revolution in Turkey; the supernationalist upsurge in the victor nations; and the accompanying turmoil in Japan, China, and India. "In each of these countries," writes Professor Mayer, "an old order was being jostled by a new one; in some, revolution and counterrevolution were squaring off . . ."
This book demonstrates that after World War I the diplomatic assignment of the peacemakers was complicated and influenced by political developments which themselves became central to their concerns. In addition to providing a penetrating narrative and interpretation of a complex turning point in history Professor Mayer makes an important methodological contribution to the study of international politics.
It was against a background of unanticipated crisis that the Big Four and their advisers negotiated what they hoped would be a lasting peace. World War I had struck deep at the foundations of social and economic life in Europe. The Western intelligentsia and political class did not realize how much of the old system was dead, and how much it had to be remade. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia was followed by the nationalist rebellions throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the November Revolution in Germany; the Kemalist Revolution in Turkey; the supernationalist upsurge in the victor nations; and the accompanying turmoil in Japan, China, and India. "In each of these countries," writes Professor Mayer, "an old order was being jostled by a new one; in some, revolution and counterrevolution were squaring off . . ."
This book demonstrates that after World War I the diplomatic assignment of the peacemakers was complicated and influenced by political developments which themselves became central to their concerns. In addition to providing a penetrating narrative and interpretation of a complex turning point in history Professor Mayer makes an important methodological contribution to the study of international politics.
