“The struggle for universal peace” or “the deception policy”: The issue of international arbitration in American-German relations on the eve of the First World War. 1904–1914

Importance. The problem of resolving military conflicts by peaceful means has attracted and continues to attract the attention of not only professional historians, but also broadest sectors of civil society. The issue of resolving military conflicts between states through arbitration courts was discussed for the first time at The Hague Peace Conference in 1898. In the beginning of 20th century, the United States of America was an active proponent of concluding arbitration agreements with its partners, but this was opposed by a number of other countries, in particular the German Empire.

Materials and Methods. The research is based on original archival sources. The methodological basis of the research is the objectivity and historicism principles, which consider modern processes and phenomena in development and interrelationship. Retrospective, synchronous and comparative methods of historical research are also used.

Results and Discussion. Based on original German archival documents the policy of the German Empire in the early XX century regarding the conclusion of an arbitration agreement with the United States of America is analyzed. The conclusion is formulated that before 1904, the Germans were in a very favorable position to the White House’s proposal to sign an arbitration agreement, hoping thereby to improve American-German relations. However, after the United States rejected all attempts of rapprochement with Berlin, Germany refused to sign a bilateral arbitration agreement.

Conclusion. The German Empire's refusal to sign an arbitration agreement with the United States worsened relations between the two countries and caused Washington's rapprochement with the Entente. This eventually led to the entry of the United States into the First World War.