ABSTRACT
The introduction presents the topic of the book, namely an analysis of the relations between US philanthropic foundations (in particular the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) and the League of Nations (LoN). It is not a diplomatic history of relations between the US and the LoN, but a comprehensive review of foundation participation in the League system to understand the overall logic of philanthropic activity as well as relations between foundations and the Secretariat. Even though the US was not a de jure member of the LoN, the financial, human, and intellectual investment of foundations brought about the de facto integration of the US within the League system and also modified the latter’s architecture. Three specific topics of discussion are presented in the introduction and developed throughout the book. The first is why talk of an Americanization of the LoN is justified. The second is how this Americanization resulted from a strategy pursued throughout the interwar period by foundations, whose objective was to establish a global government of science. The third discusses the use of the term “hegemony” in reference to the US takeover of reorganizing the international order during World War II.
