Internationalism in a Divided World: The Experience of the International Federation of League of Nations Societies, 1919-1939

Despite the challenges of the geopolitical divisions of the interwar years, the International Federation of League of Nations Societies (IFLNS) brought together associations claiming to promote the ideals of the League of Nations in forty countries. It pioneered techniques for the lobbying of intergovernmental organizations that were so extensive that some considered it a “third chamber” of the League of Nations, and in areas such as its minorities work the Federation’s independent policy initiatives may be considered to be precursors to present‐day “politics beyond the state.” Based largely on hitherto neglected publications and archives of the IFLNS, this is the first article to evaluate specifically the work of a body that at the time was often considered to be the leading international nongovernmental organization for the promotion of peace between the world wars. The article introduces the evolution of the IFLNS and explores its national and international work in turn.