The British people and the League of Nations : democracy, citizenship and internationalism c. 1918-45 / Helen McCarthy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McCarthy, Helen, 1979-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

League of Nations--Great Britain--History.

League of Nations.

League of Nations Union--History.

League of Nations Union.

Political culture--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Political culture.

Internationalism--History--20th century.

Internationalism.

Social history--20th century.

Social history.

League of Nations--Great Britain--Public opinion--History.

Public opinion.

History.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

x, 282 p ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York : distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Summary:

In the decades following Europe's first total war, millions of British men and women looked to the League of Nations as the symbol and guardian of a new world order based on international co-operation. Founded in 1919 to preserve peace between its member-states, the League inspired a rich, participatory culture of political protest, popular education and civic ritual which found expression in the establishment of voluntary societies in dozens of countries across Europe and beyond. Through the hugely popular League of Nations Union (LNU), this pro-League movement touched Britain in profound ways. Foremost amongst the League societies, the LNU became a pioneering advocate of democratic accountability and popular engagement in the making of foreign policy.

Using previously undiscovered sources, The British people and the League of Nations is a groundbreaking work which offers a vivid and readable account of this popular League consciousness, revealing the extraordinarily vibrant character of associational life between the wars. It is the first account to explore the complex constituencies making up the popular League movement, and to show how internationalism intersected with class, gender, religion and party politics during a period of profound social, cultural and political change.

This book is essential reading for scholars and students of modern British history, as well as anyone interested in the dynamics of social and political movements. Book jacket.

Contents:

The respectable face of troublemaking

The League of Nations, public opinion and the new diplomacy

Of all parties and of none : the League in party politics

Members one of another : Christianity, religion and the League

Training for world citizenship : internationalist education between the wars

Enlightened patriots : League, empire, nation

Classes and cultures? League activism and class politics

Mothering the world : the making of a gendered internationalism

The quiet citizen silenced : the failure of political centrism, 1936-39

Democratising foreign policy between the wars.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [257]-276) and index.

ISBN:

9780719086168

0719086167

OCLC:

769192379