Suchergebnisse

Having been neglected for a long time, the history of the League of Nations has recently experienced a spectacular resurgence which leads to a reinterpretation of a number of received ideas, among which that of the absence of the United States. Indeed, the interpretation of the relationships between the US and the League must be seriously revised if the perspective adopted moves from governmental actors to nongovernmental ones -- e.g. philanthropic foundations. In particular, the analysis of the involvement of the Rockefeller foundation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the non-political activities of the League leads to the conclusion that the US, while not being officially a League member, can be considered as a strong participant in it. Adapted from the source document.

This article examines the history of the development of American universalism starting from the premise that the major philanthropic foundations, having emerged early on the international scene, are a locus where it crystallizes. Starting in the 1890s, the United States possessed the means to achieve their international ambition. This is also when universalism was forged among the new elites, of which the large philanthropic societies are an emanation, which is based on the certainty that the United States held the key to the future of humanity. It matured between the 1890s & the interwar period, to demonstrate its full force after 1945,due to the superpower status the U.S. had then acquired. The action of foundations should be resituated in this perspective: with the early 20th century, they devised a world policy that closely combined the certainty of embodying the general interest & a desire to spread the American model. The Rockefeller Foundation demonstrates this in emblematic fashion. Adapted from the source document.