Today, August 27, is the 78th anniversary of the signing of the Pact of Paris, better known outside of Paris as the Kellogg-Briand Pact. This treaty boldly outlawed war.

A fabulous legalism, it was first suggested as a bilateral treaty by a Canadian-American, Columbia University professor James T. Shotwell, but given form by the French government in an open letter to the American people from the French foreign minister, Aristide Briand.* France had already begun her slide from world power to middling nation and America figured prominently in the French multipolar mix.

PEACE FOREVER AND EVER
President Coolidge Puts The Finishing Touches On The Pact

American newspapers took up this idea of a no-cost, bloodless, paper defense of world peace and began demanding the "outlawry of war" from an uninterested Coolidge administration. Secretary of State, Frank B. Kellogg, eventually warmed to the idea -- or resigned himself -- but opened the treaty up to all interested nations, after which Mr. Kellogg fell wholeheartedly in love with his achievement. Ultimately 62 signatories piled on for brownie points and the fond protection of ink to paper.

The treaty provided no collective defense, no enforcement, no penalties, and no procedure to amend. To disturb the peace was considered bad manners and what nation could long survive the mortification of being called out for bad manners? Or so the thinking went. As it turns out one by one** signatories discovered that mortification wasn't so bad -- a week's headlines, tops.

Although the treaty introduced novel international legal concepts -- the Nuremberg trials convicted on the treaty's notion of a crime against peace -- it had the unintended effect of delaying America's entry into the next European war.

I could not make this talk without expressing my approval of the Administration's stand to keep the United States out of war [scil., Italo-Abyssinian War]. ... It is important that the United States try to keep out of war. It is even more important that the United States help in every practicable and legitimate way to prevent war and cooperate with the efforts of other nations to this end.

Frank B. Kellogg,
former Secretary of State
and co-inventor of world peace
October 30, 1935 (CBS)

The Kellogg-Briand Pact remains in force in America to this day.

Diplomacy is an endless procession of half-steps toward unreachable extra-national goals. At each half-step every diplomat agrees substantial progress is being made though the goal remains unattained and unattainable. Nations meanwhile jockey and huddle-up in accordance with the ancient formulary set out in the Melian Dialogue:

Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.

It offends our sense of good manners. Believe what you like, but the world has never moved a jot on courtesy.

* Earlier M. Briand had bagged a partial peace prize for the Locarno Treaties, also famously failed.

** The obvious spoilers: Japan invades Manchuria (1931), Shanghai (1932); Italy invades Ethiopia (1936); Germany invades Poland (1939)

PFFT (What is this?): Fabulous peace 1¼ | Rayonnement américain ¾ | Rayonnement français ¾

Bonjour,

Au fait, Wendelin Werner , médaillé FIELDS FRANCAIS en 2006.
Je ne vois pas de Yankee dans la liste.
Rayonnement français:+1 !!!!
Rayonnement US=+00000000000 =0 !!!!!
Rappel:
USA:280 millions d' habitants , 13 médailles Fields
France:65 millions d' habitants , 9 médailles Fields.
Aux USA , on bosse soit disant beaucoup , mais la productivité n'est pas TERRIBLE !!

Good luck to your country in Irak !!!!