The 'quiet' death of the League of Nations

国际联盟是世界上第一个多功能政府间组织。虽然它未能实现其维持和平目标，但其经济和社会工作在1946年4月“正式”结束之后继续进行，于1947年9月结束。历史和国际关系学者习惯性地忽略了这一“清算”时期，因此未能从其自身的角度理解该组织。在这类组织中，只有同盟被关闭了。2017年，国际组织因各国政府退回到选择性孤立主义立场而日益紧张，这一历史案例研究具有巨大的当代意义。缺乏对国际联盟清算过程的认识意味着，关于国际组织的主流概念仍然没有受到挑战，我们理解国际联盟的能力受到严重限制。我的研究将讨论以下问题：-国联的工作实际上是怎样结束的？1946年4月以后谁在为联盟工作，为什么？-领导人员，如阿盟最后一任秘书长，在其解散中发挥了什么作用？-今天运作的国际组织可以从国联的清算中吸取什么教训？-联盟的关闭如何挑战和帮助完善现有的政府间组织模式？该项目将基于对各种来源的定性和定量研究，包括国际联盟官方文件、为该组织工作或与该组织一起工作的人员的个人文件，以及国家和媒体档案，以追踪对关闭过程的更广泛反应和影响。

The League of Nations was the world's first multifunctional intergovernmental organisation. While it failed to achieveits peacekeeping objectives, its economic and social work continued beyond its 'official' closure in April 1946,concluding in September 1947. Scholars of both History and International Relations have habitually ignored this'liquidation' period, and thereby failed to understand the organisation on its own terms.The League is the only organisation of its kind to be closed down. In 2017, a time when international organisationsare increasingly strained by governments' retreat into selectively isolationist positions, this historical case study hasenormous contemporary relevance. The lack of appreciation of the League's liquidation process has meant thatprevailing concepts concerning international organisations remain unchallenged, and our ability to understand theLeague is severely limited.My study will address the following:- How, in practice, did the work of the League come to a close?- Who was working for the League after April 1946, and why?-What was the role of leading personnel, such as the League's last Secretary-General, in its liquidation?- What lessons can international organisations operative today draw from the League's liquidation?- How does the League's closure challenge and help to refine existing models of intergovernmentalorganisations?This project will be based on both qualitative and quantitative research of a diverse range of sources, includingofficial League of Nations documentation, personal papers of those working for and alongside the organisation, andnational and media archives to trace wider reactions to and impacts of the closure process.