The Quest for Global Security and Peace, and the Rise of International Organizations

Among the central concerns of international politics are questions of war and peace. Why does war happen? How can wars be ended? Is it possible to avoid conflicts altogether? Throughout the course of world history, people aspired for global peace, security, socio-cultural relationship, and global federations. The Peace of Westphalia signed in October 1648 saw the rise of sovereign states in the modern sense in Europe, but the cause of global peace and security did not receive a significant boost until more than a century and a half thereafter, when the Congress of Vienna consciously attempted, for the first time in modern diplomatic history, to substitute an idea of the collective peace and security of Europe in place of old competitive security that had survived in the Balance of Power system. Against this background, this study aims to analyze how the quest for global peace and security led to the rise of international organizations over the years.