Yesterday was the 84th anniversary of the Kellogg-Briand Pact which in popular parlance "outlawed war" and got its authors (the American Secretary of State and French Foreign Minister) the Nobel Peace Prize. The 1928 Pact provided for "the renunciation of war as an instrument of foreign policy".
Along with France and the United States there were eventually about fifty signatories including the Italy, Japan, Germany and the Soviet Union. Of course, it is thanks to this pact that Europe and the rest of the world had its long peace of the 20th century (other than WWII and some other minor hiccups).
In reality it is a reminder that nations will always pursue what they determine to be in their best interests regardless of whatever sentiments may be expressed in these meaningless international accords.
This 2011 article from the Council On Foreign Relations blog on the occasion of the 83rd anniversary provides more background. If you read it you'll see that the "sounds good" pressures that led to the Pact have been replicated in many of the international treaty campaigns of recent years.
So true, even during the Summer of Love era the noble promise of "love, peace & joy" was conditional. dm
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