Abstract

The goal of the study is to identify the effect that cosmopolitan thinking had on European politics during the interwar years. Rather than focusing on utopian dreams, the study concentrates on the actual implementation of cosmopolitan projects: on the practices and players of cosmopolitanism.

In this context, actions are considered “cosmopolitan practices” when they strive to achieve a long-term convergence of global society and supranational decision-making, or to create universal laws and meet needs for regulation that nation-states have not addressed on their own. Evidence suggesting that cosmopolitanism grew in importance after the First World War can be found both inside and outside of the League of Nations; but the League is always involved and is therefore the focus of the study. Six probes are set to investigate the realization of cosmopolitan projects in the interwar period - in the fields: communication and cultural policy, education for cosmopolitanism, staffing policy of the League of Nations, human rights, humanitarian commitment, and the competing project of a “Paneuropean Union.”

The study promises to provide new insights into cosmopolitanism because it does not consider cosmopolitanism as a distant vision, but rather tests its suitability for practical application. It will contribute to the history of human rights and democratization as well as to the history of European integration, internationalism, and nationalism. It will also expand our knowledge of the League of Nations and the implementation and functioning of global organizations in general.