Peace and internationalism

Author

Daniel Payne

Curator for Politics and International Relations

Introduction

The archives focus on the work of pressure groups, activists, international organisations, and individuals working for peace, disarmament and greater international cooperation from the late 19th century to the present day. It includes a variety of material such as minutes of meetings, leaflets, posters, badges, diaries and correspondence.

Access digitised Peace and Internationalism material on our digital library.

The League of Nations and the United Nations

The League of Nations was founded in 1920 after the end of the first world war with the goal of maintaining world peace. It was eventually replaced by the United Nations in 1945.

League of Nations - official publications investigating prostitution, trafficking and peace. Find these on Library Search (for more, see our Prostitution and Trafficking collections highlights page).
UN Documents - LSE Library is a specialist UN Depository Library, containing official UN material (use Library Search) as well as non-official "masthead" documents (try using the database "AccessUN" to locate these, or get in touch).
League of Nations Union (LNU) and United Nations Association (UNA) - the "critical fan clubs" of their respective institutions. Access some LNU minutes and posters on our digital library.

Margaret Bondfield giving a talk in front of a banner — Margaret Bondfield, giving a speech for WILPF at the world disarmament conference in Geneva, 1932.

Disarmament, Peace and Cooperation

The 20th century saw the establishment of a number of organisations that worked towards peace on an international scale. Some of the major collections in the archives include:

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) - formed in 1915 at the International Women's Congress in the Hague. Access photographs, minutes, annual reports and WILPF’s journal Pax International online. You can also listen to Oral History projects and view more recent documents from WILPF.
Campaign for for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) - advocating the abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide, the collection also includes the papers of Pat Arrowsmith, co-founder of CND, and Hugh Jenkins, chair of CND from 1979 to 1981. Find out more about Pat Arrowsmith in this blog post. You can also listen to the history of CND in this podcast from Kate Hudson, CND’s general secretary.
National Federation of Women's Institutes - including the minutes of the international subcommittee during the inter-war period.

A woman talking at a microphone in front of a CND banner — Pat Arrowsmith, peace activist and prominent member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Federalism and the EU

Ideas of a federated Europe and/or world government have been supported by a number of individuals in the archives, including:

For Britain's relationship with the development of the European Union and early ideas of a federated Europe, see the Britain and Europe page.

Other international groups

Our archives hold many other international groups working towards peace, including:

European Nuclear Disarmament (established in 1980 for a nuclear free Europe "from Poland to Portugal").
National Peace Council (founded in 1908 and interested in peace, disarmament and international relations).
Fellowship of Reconciliation (England) (international movement committed to non-violence and "based in the Christian tradition"). Also included is the London Union branch. Read their journal Christian Pacifist online.
UK Affiliate of the World Court Project (who met at LSE in 1991 and sought an opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal status of nuclear weapons).

Woman with abolish weapons board — Unidentified member of WILPF publishing the 1932 World Disarmament conference.

Campaigners and activists

As well as international organisations, many individuals campaigned for peace. These include:

Catherine and Leonard Courtney who opposed the South African Wars. Their archives include correspondence, speeches, pamphlets and diaries.
Greenham Common Collection - including the archives of many women activists associated with the camps such as Lyn Barlow and Ginette Leach.
Greenham Women Everywhere - digital archives produced by a partnership project between Scary Little Girls Association and The Heroine Collective.
George Lansbury (Labour MP, see our British political parties page).
Agnes Maude Royden (preacher and suffragist).
E. D. Morel (founder of the Union of Democratic Control).

A CND protester march — Photograph from the London to Aldermaston March, 1960s

How do I search?

This is just a snapshot of the material we hold that covers this subject. You can find these items and many more by using the following tools:

Archives catalogue with keywords such as "peace", "security", "international".
Library Search for journals and pamphlets.

How do I access?

Most of the material highlighted here is part of our special collections, which are open to all but must be consulted in our reading room. Find out how to book your place and order material on our access archives and special collections page.

How do I get further help?

If you need help with any of the collections mentioned here get in touch with our Curator Politics and International Relations, Daniel Payne, or on Twitter.

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