At the Margins of Sovereignty: The Paris Peace Treaties of 1919/20 and International Law in the early 20th Century

The legal dimension of the Paris Peace Treaties (1919/20) has often been ignored in historical research. In contrast, I argue that legal claims, concepts, and experts have played a major role both in the emergence of the treaties as in their failures as effective peace order. The project situates the Peace Conference against the backdrop of 19th century jurisprudence and analyzes the influence of international lawyers on the negotia-tions. In addition, it will also conduct case studies on the legal implementation of the Treaty of Versailles in 1920s Germany. By embedding the role of international law and international lawyers in a broad political and cultural context, this study aims to expand our understanding of the procedures that define “politics” and “law” in modern societies. It also offers a historical contribution to recent debates on the nature of international legal regimes and on the historically contingent and constructivist character of modern state sovereignty.