Organisational aspects of the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)

The Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) was expected to resolve all the numerous issues after World War I, but the organisation of this gigantic event was rather insufficient. The conference was held in Paris, recognising the important position of the principal country of the Allied victors. In the past, conferences were predominantly attended by professional diplomats, capable of “coaching” their sovereigns or politicians. The Paris Peace Conference was officially supposed to be different in that secret diplomacy undertaken by dip- lomats was disavowed. The criticism of the old traditions prevalent in diplomacy resulted in a different composition of delegations. Rather than professional diplomats with a legal background as in the past, the participants in the conference were economists, soldiers, or experts in various branches of social sciences.