The Great War for Peace

by William Mulligan

A new look at the legacy of WWI, a war fought for peace yet followed by a century of devastating violence

“The war to end all wars” rings out a bitter mockery of the First World War, often viewed as the seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century, the crucible from which Soviet, Fascist, and Nazi dictatorships emerged. Today’s conventional wisdom is that the Great War attuned the world to large-scale slaughter, that post-war efforts directed by the Treaty at Versailles were botched, that unbridled new nationalisms made the Second World War inevitable.
 
This provocative book refutes such interpretations, arguing instead that the first two decades of the twentieth century—and the First World War in particular—played an essential part in the construction of a peaceful new order on a global scale. Historian William Mulligan takes an entirely fresh look at the aspirations of statesmen, soldiers, intellectuals, and civilians who participated in the war and at the new ideas about peace that were forged. While the hope for ultimate peace may have legitimized and even intensified the violence of the war, it also broadened conventional ideas about international politics and led to the emergence of such institutions as the League of Nations and the International Labour Organization. The experience of the First World War reinforced humanitarian concerns in political life and focused attention on building a better and more peaceful world order, Mulligan shows. Such issues resonate still in the political and diplomatic debates of today.

Genres: World War I, History, War, Nonfiction

456 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Marks54 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderful book contributes to arguments about the influence of the WW1 on the world and its pivotal place among the conflicts of the 20th century. The focus of the arguments is on how the war contributed to how we think about world peace and how collective action has come to have considerable influence upon states in conflict. To do this, Mulligan argues, in what is largely a diplomatic history, that WW! gave rise to great extremes. While the efforts involved in the League of Nation, the Locarno Treaty, the Kellogg Briand agreement, and the work of various IOs appears a failure, given the rise of Hitler, the trauma of the 1930s, and the violence of WW2, it was actually of vital importance as it represented important ways to field test ideas of international peace and provide experiences to those who would eventually bring about better efforts at peace through the UN and various IOs. While people remember the violence of the 1920s and 1930s and WW2, which made for a new 30 years war in Europe, the false starts and limited successes towards peace during the 1920s and 1930s were just as important for the more successful peace regimes that developed after 1945. WW1 hastened the demise of the 19th century European state system, although that process had begun with the Balkan wars and the assault on Ottoman Libya by the Italians in 1911. Throughout the war, decision makers and common people were looking forward to peace and a cessation of wars. How these ideas were considered developed over the course of the war. That many of these ideas were proven not practical after the war only suggests that political, economic, and cultural systems were not sufficiently attuned to these ideas at the start, even though the initial limited successes and failures worked to change the frame of reference of publics and governments so that change could prove practical at some future time.

The book is welll written and filled with insights. It highlights the linkages between WW1 and WW2. The book also argues against "Great Men" as drivers of history. For example,wWhile Wilson and Lenin were both important for the political order that emerged after the long war and its follow-up second act in 1939, they were situated in a rich context that featured most of their ideas being carried in important discussions by actors all over Europe. Wilson and Lenin were both important but were also both driven by events perhaps even more than they actually drove those events.

The book is well written but also a bit dense. Keep handy a list of the players on all the different sides. There are a lot of people involved.

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully published book
Lavish overview of parts of the Great War you may not have considered
The title itself says it all.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

I don't read a whole lot of non-fiction books, but when I do read them they need to be good.

"The Great War for Peace" by William Mulligan wasn't really what I was expecting. It's far more about the politics leading up to, during, and after WWI, than the "trench warfare" descriptions you usually get.

My only complaint: The chapters are sectioned off by date, but there's a lot of dotting backwards and forwards in time and that was a bit frustrating for me.