Abstract
This article analyses the 1919 peace treaty's signing at Versailles, and what the magnificent staging signalled about the peace terms, notably regarding power and emerging notions of self-determination. In 1919, international society appeared to be on the threshold of a new era. However, a dissonance emerged between the peacemakers' proclamations and the operationalisation of new principles of openness and emancipation. Certain royal houses and empires may have vanished but the remaining power-holders were not about to relinquish their dominance. While the familiar, blunt-edged tools of brazen colonialism were no longer available, some finer instruments and skilled professional expertise would finesse the details of an unequal hegemonic future. In all senses, this was a design project and in acknowledgement of Versailles's backdrop and the peacemakers' cartographic approach, landscape architecture's specialist principles offer a lens for comprehending and critiquing the legal-political practices of Versailles 1919.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 121–163 |
Number of pages | 43 |
Journal | London Review of International Law |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 23 Oct 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 23 Oct 2020 |
Keywords
- Versailles Treaty
- self-determination
- Middle East
- landscape architecture
- design
- gardens