Law of Nations and Britain's Quest for Naval Security

This study presents a fresh perspective on arms control efforts prior to the First World War through an innovative interdisciplinary approach. By studying international law and what statesmen hoped to accomplish through a naval arms treaty, a key, yet missing, element in earlier studies of pre-war diplomacy can be provided. Many major works of diplomatic history suffer from inadequate comprehension of international law, leading to significant misinterpretations of historical events. This work fills this gap, providing historians with an understanding of how statesmen expected the international legal system to work. The use of naval arms control as a specific case study not only provides a concrete instance of international law at work, but also corrects the record on armaments negotiations. While the Anglo-German arms race has been heavily studied by historians and political scientists, the role of law remains unexplored. Rather than providing a dry account of the history of international law, the work uncovers the ambitions of statesmen to advance national interests through treaties, and how they hoped these ambitions would be fulfilled.