ABSTRACT
“Before the War” introduces the “peoples as problems” in the respective victor states. All three states contained, or wished to contain, groups of people whose circumstances made them into political challenges in the new era of national self-determination. Great Britain struggled with a portion of the Irish population that insisted upon increased self-government and a smaller portion that adamantly refused such a change. France mourned the loss of Alsace by creating a myth about the nature of the unique regional culture that actually occupied the space, and simultaneously feared a pro-German fifth column. Italian irredentists argued for expansion of their country to complete the Risorgimento, but refused to appreciate that the areas in which they were interested contained a large number of people who did not identify with their idea of a superior italianìta.
