An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove: the Principles that Defined the American Age
... next war. This cycle had perpetuated in Europe for centuries. Any peace treaty, and the very paradigm of diplomacy, implied bargaining, maximizing the benefits of war or minimizing its damage, but not a fight on war itself. In this sense, Wilson’s Fourteen Points stood out in that they set forth the founding principles of international relations that were supposed to put an end to war as a phenom-enon, making it impossible. The most important principles were: abandoning secret diplomacy; reducing ...