11 maja 2021

The “Soft Power” Projects as a Supplement to the “Hard Power” Treaties

Full title: The “Soft Power” Projects as a Supplement to the “Hard Power” Treaties: The Moral Disarmament Concept and a Reason for its Failure in the Interwar Period

Author: dr hab. Paweł Duber

Abstract/summary:

In this paper, I intend to examine the problem of the so-called moral disarmament, the conception which is barely recalled by the historians of international relations. Nevertheless, in the interwar period, this idea raised a lot of interest and hopes among many influential organisations and groups of people all around the world, perfectly aware of its importance for the success of the Geneva Disarmament Conference opened in 1932. This issue also attracted the attention of Polish diplomacy, which noticed the changing nature of international relations and the growing role of non-state actors in European politics. Therefore, the project of moral disarmament offered a great opportunity for the promotion of Poland in the opinion-forming circles of international public opinion. It was also seen as a remedy for the difficult geopolitical situation, and a real stepping stone of Polish disarmament concepts in Geneva. However, this project and the whole conference were doomed to failure due to the unsolvable contradictions of the political order established in 1919.