War and Peace, and INGOs, 1914-1945

In the second half of the nineteenth century, there was a boom in the foundation of newinternational associations – bodies that would today be described as international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). Since that period, the international trend of organisedcooperation almost never slowed down. However, we can observe a significant globalreduction of such organisations in the periods around the two world wars (1914-1918 and1939-1945). But were the wars themselves the main cause of these changes, or is the tensepolitical situation preceding a war to blame? And which organisations are particularlyvulnerable to a hostile diplomatic climate: those with less resources, those in certain countriesor maybe those dealing with activist topics? Thanks to the data from the Union ofInternational Associations (UIA), we can answer such questions by interpreting the results ofboth statistical and descriptive analyses of INGOs in their historical context. This studyprovides insights into the influence of inter-state politics on non-governmental internationalorganisations and therefore contributes to our understanding of the effects of war onassociational life.