Patriotism and peace: Gender and the politics of transnational nongovernmental organizations, 1920–1945

Christy Jo Snider, Purdue University

Abstract

In 1945, transnational nongovernmental organizations were given consultative status within the newly established United Nations. The explanation for this extraordinary decision lies not in the immediate circumstances surrounding the creation of the UN, but rather in the activity of transnational NGOs during the years between World War I and World War II. Throughout the interwar years, American branches of international special interest groups, including the American Association of University Women, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and the War Resisters' League, actively engaged in attempts to education pubic opinion about world problems, lobby foreign policy leaders, participate in the formation of international legislation, act as intermediaries between national governments, and sponsor transnational social projects. Although the work done by these NGOs was not always effective or successful, their varied approaches and methods convinced many world leaders that there was a place for international private interest groups in the United Nations. By 1945, the decision making elite agreed to incorporate nongovernmental organizations into the UN due to three primary reasons. First, world leaders realized that several international interest groups were effective at influencing public opinion and they wanted to use this ability to advance governmental ideas. Second, NGOs were given official status in the UN because foreign policy decision makers valued and hoped to benefit from these associations' knowledge and expertise on issues of global significance. And third, transnational interest groups were brought into the United Nations so that international government would have some control over the activities of these organizations. By giving nongovernmental groups an official status with the association for world government, the UN could define what was considered legitimate NGO activity. The examination of interwar NGOs, moreover, brings the opinions of citizens around the world, especially women, into the study of foreign affairs. Women's nongovernmental organizations have been some of the most dynamic supporters of international government. Often excluded from traditional avenues of access to international relations, NGOs provided women with a means by which to express their views on issues like human rights, peace, and women's status.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Gabin, Purdue University.

Subject Area

American history|International law|International relations|Womens studies

COinS