Securing the World Economy explains how efforts to support global capitalism became a core objective of the League of Nations. Based on new research drawn together from archives on three continents, it explores how the world's first ever inter-governmental organization confronted the powerful forces that influenced the global economy, and the prospects for peace. It traces how the League was drawn into economics and finance by the exigencies of the financial slump and hyperinflation after the First World War, when it provided essential financial support to Austria, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria, and Estonia, and thereby established the founding principles of financial intervention, international oversight, and the twentieth-century notion of international 'development'. But it is the impact of the Great Depression after 1929 that lies at the heart of this history. Patricia Clavin traces how the League of Nations sought to combat economic nationalism and promote economic and monetary co-operation in a variety of, sometimes contradictory, ways. Many of the economists, bureaucrats, and policy-advisors who worked for it played a seminal role in the history of international relations and social science, and their efforts did not end with the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1940 the League established an economic mission in the United States, where it contributed to the creation of organizations for the post-war world - the United Nations Organization, the IMF, the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization - as well as to plans for European reconstruction and co-operation. It is a history that resonates deeply with challenges that face the twenty-first century world.

About the Author
Patricia Clavin was educated at eleven different schools before studying History at King's College, London. She is Professor of International History and the Zeitlyn Fellow and Tutor in History at Jesus College, Oxford.

Reviews
this is an impressive and meticulously researched monograph that has much to offer scholars working on all aspects of modern international history. * Emily Baughan, Reviews in History, *
There are so many insights that it is impossible to do justice to them all...This book is a major contribution not just to the history of international organization in the twentieth century, but to an understanding of the actual social and political processes that underpinned the amazing leap into institutionalized international relations witnessed by its second half. * Cornelia Navari, International Affairs *
This book will last and is unlikely to be replicated' ... it has unquestionably proved that in those years the League of Nations undertook a major role in economic and financial diplomacy and has shed much light on its previously little-known activities. * Sally Marks, H-Diplo *
Patricia Clavin has written a pioneering account of the League's Economic and Financial Organization (EFO) and substantially advances our understanding of the League system... Thanks to the rich research that underpins this book, we are now able to peek into committee rooms and private offices, exploring the previously unknown aspects of interwar internationalism. * Daniel Laqua, American Historical Review *
Clavin offers a detailed analysis of the transformation of the League of Nations from an institution dedicated to maintaining peace after the Great War to one focused on a variety of economic policies beyond the initial scope of Wilsonian free trade ... Recommended. * S. Prisco III, CHOICE *
this new book by Patricia Clavin, treat[s] individual international organizations more in-depth based on fresh archival research. * Wolfram Kaiser, Diplomacy & Statecraft *
Solidly based on multi-archival research and wide reading ... opens up a new and potentially rich field for investigation. * Peter J. Yearwood, English Historical Review *
In presenting this treasure trove of material Professor Clavin has performed a considerable service for all students of the League and its era. * Lorna Lloyd, History *
What is particularly pleasing and refreshing is that Clavin has retained the human dimension in her research ... Patricia Clavin has produced an important book that rightfully rehabilitates a crucial aspect of the League's activities, international economic management, hitherto occulted by the general and unwarranted cataloguing of the League of Nations as an outright failure. * John Keiger, The Economic History Review *


Awards
Winner of Awarded the British Academy Medal 2015.



Book Information
ISBN 9780198766483
Author Patricia Clavin
Format Paperback
Page Count 414
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 231mm * 156mm * 23mm