The Versailles Settlement created in the aftermath of the First World War does not enjoy a great reputation, with many blaming it for the even more devastating Second World War. This book sets the consequences - for good or ill- of the Paris Peace Treaties into their longer term context and argues that the Settlement must be seen as part of a process in which the responsibility for Europe's continuing interwar instability must be shared more widely than simply by the peacemakers of 1919-1920.

The Peace Settlements : Versailles, an overview --The German problem -- The League of Nations and the United Nations -- National self-determination : Wilson's troublesome principle -- Minority protection, disarmament and international law -- Ideology and the American century -- Conclusion : 'The peace to end the peace.".