Construction of the international system of Versailles, according to the doctrine of Woodrow Wilson

• Main Author: MSc. Albulena Halili
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Felix-Verlag 2011-12-01
• Series: ILIRIA International Review
• Online Access: http://iliriapublications.org/index.php/iir/article/view/193

Mapping of the international system after the First World War took place in the Conference of Versailles, where a peace treaty was negotiated to end this war, and would reshape the world order. The key role in negotiating peace was handed to the United States of America, and its President Woodrow Wilson. This paper aims to elaborate the doctrine of US President Wilson, presented through the Fourteen Points, which were the basis for the international system that was created after First World War. Two of Wilson’s Fourteen Points, which are the object of study in this paper, had the most important impact on international relations, thereby transforming into international law principles, respected to this day: the right of the people for self-determination, which led to the destruction of multi-national empires, and the creation of a association of nations, which resulted in the establishment of the League of Nations, a predecessor of United Nations. The methodological approach used in this paper is analytical-theoretical, and is based on contemporary literature. It aims to identify the strong and weak sides of this doctrine, and its influence in the establishment of the Versailles international system, which only lasted twenty years. Conclusions from this paper are that the Fourteen Points not only served for the mapping of the Versailles international system but also for the establishment of preceding international systems. Many of those principles are the foundation of contemporary international relations