Los estudios internacionales en América Latina: realizaciones y desafíos

I\rnold Toyn~ I THE STUD\' OF <:ONTEMPORARY HISTORY, FOUNDING QF THE I'IRST that this is possible. But 1 am therefore dividing this leeture into two parts. In the fírst part today 1 am going to talk about the founding of the two earliest institutes of this kind: The Couneil on Foreign Relations in New York and the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. Then in the seeond part of this leeture, next Monday, I'm going on to the more theoretieal question of diseussing whether, after a11, the study of contemporary history is praetically possible. 1 1 myself and Dr. Veliz belíeve it is. Dr. Veliz very strongly believes this is possible because he is inaugurating this institute. The University believes it is possible because it is founding the institute and 1 believe it is possible because my wife and 1 have spent thirty three years of our life in trying to write a current survey of contemporary international affairs. Still the question needs diseussing, and 1 shall diseuss tbis next Monday. ORIGIN OF THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATlONS AND THE BRITlSH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS But today 1 want to talk about the more practical question of how this form of study first arose. The Couneil on Foreign Relations in New York and the Royal lnstitute of International Affairs in London are the two oIdest institutes of this kind. They were founded together during the Peace Conference in París in 1919, and 1 thirtk perhaps the history of their foundation may be of sorne interest to you in Chile today, when you are founding a Chilean Institute for the same purpose. Before the outbreak of the fírst World War in 1914, there was no serious unofficial study of international affairs in Britain. Of course people read the newspapers and they were vaguely aware of critical situations, say in the relation between Britain and Germany; they were a'Vare of the naval race between Britain and Germany which proceeded the outbreak of the first World War. But before the outbreak of the first World War, before 1914, Britain had been practically a democratícally governed country for 82 years since the parliamentary reform of 1832. But democratic control over the government was really in practice lirnited to domestic problems. In domestic politics the government was furíously controlled directly by parliament and indirectly by the electorate which elected the parliament and perhaps changed the party in power if it was disatisfied with their policy. But foréign poliey was regarded on the whole as being the preserve of the Cabínet and Foreign Office. lNota del editor: la segunda conferencia pronunciada por Arnold Toynbee al inaugu– rar el Instituto de Estudios Internacionales de la Universidad de Chile fue publicada en Estudios Internacionales. NO 1, abril de 1967. 19