Transnational Communication History of the League of Nations in the Inter-War Period (1920-1938)

Leader: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Averbeck-Lietz

ZeMKI Lab "Communication History and Media Change"

Project Duration: 2017 - 2022

Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)

The transnational communication history of the League of Nations in the interwar period (1920-1938) will be analyzed by focusing on the dimensions of a) the organization of information politics, b) professional journalism and c) the coverage of the assemblies of the League of Nations in an international comparison (countries of the press coverage analysis are: Germany, France, GB, Austria, Switzerland, US). Research is based on a method mix of document analysis, collective biographies and qualitative and quantitative content analysis.

Events

April 22 and 23, 2021: International Conference on the Communication History of International Organisations (Online) 

Further information regarding the conference can be found here. 

November 21, 2019: Internal Project Workshop (Bremen)

Transnational Communication History of the League of Nations: Results, Problems, Perspectives. Download the programme and further information regarding the workshop here.

Lectures

• Gellrich, Arne L., Averbeck-Lietz, S., Franke, G., Sachs, M, Koenen, E. (2022): Herausforderungen und Methodologie historischer Inhaltsanalysen. Inhaltsanalystische Praxis am Beispiel der Völkerbundberichterstattung im Vorwärts der 1920er Jahre. Conference DGPuK-Section Communication History and Institute for Newspaper Research Dortmund, 28.04.2022,  Archives of the Town of Dortmund.
• Averbeck-Lietz, S (2020). Transnational communication history of the League of Nations. The Leagues’ information section till 1925. Colloque du CELSA, Sorbonne, Paris 11.3.2020
• Gellrich, A., Koenen, E., Averbeck-Lietz, S. (2019). The League of Nations „Open Diplomacy“: Strategy For a New World Order. A Century of Internationalisms: The Promise and Legacies of the League of Nations, Lissabon 18.–20. September 2019.
• Averbeck-Lietz, S. Gellrich, A. & Koenen, E. (2019). ‘Open Diplomacy’ for the League of Nations: The Co-evolution of Journalism, PR and Public Diplomacy during the 1920s. IAMCR-Conference Communication, Technology and Human Dignity: Disputed Rights, Contested Truths, Madrid, 7 – 11 Juli 2019
• Gellrich, A., Averbeck-Lietz, S. & Koenen, E. (2019) Always frankly and in the public view? – the co-evolutive epistemic project of public diplomacy and transnational reporting under the League of Nations. International History of Public Relations Conference 2019, Bournemouth 26. – 28. Juni 2019.
• Gellrich, A., Averbeck-Lietz & Koenen, E. (2019). Covering the League of Nations: Co-evolution of transnational conference journalism and ‘open diplomacy’ in the interwar period (1920–’38). Workshop Relational Event Models (REM) des Doc-Netzwerks n(sna) – Qualitative und Quantitative Ansätze der Sozialen Netzwerkanalyse, Bremen, 22. – 23. Januar 2019.
• Koenen, E., Gellrich, A. & Averbeck-Lietz, S. (2018). Conference journalism and ‘open diplomacy’ – The League of Nations communication concept as an epistemic project. ECREA-Conference Centres and Peripheries: Communication, Research, Translation, Lugano 31. October – 3. November 2018.
• Averbeck-Lietz, S., Koenen, E. & Gellrich, A. (2018). The League of Nations “Open Diplomacy”: The 20th Century Challenge for Transnational Journalism. Journalism across Borders: The Production and “Produsage” of News in the Era of Transnationalization, Ilmenau, 26.–28. September 2018.
• Koenen, E., Gellrich, A. & Averbeck-Lietz, S. (2018). Transnationale Kommunikationsgeschichte des Völkerbundes in der Zwischenkriegszeit (1920-1938). Institutions-, Professions- und Öffentlichkeitssphäre des Völkerbundjournalismus im Mehrländervergleich. ZemKI-Research-Colloqium, Summer Semester 2018, Bremen, 16.05.2018

Publications

Erik Koenen (ed.): Communicating the League of Nations. Geneva: United Nations Library (in preparation for 2023 with contributions by Stefanie Averbeck-Lietz, Arne L. Gellrich, Erik Koenen, Kaarle Nordenstreng/Tarja Seppä and Jürgen Wilke)

Gellrich, Arne; Koenen, Erik and Averbeck-Lietz, Stefanie: The epistemic project of open diplomacy and the League of Nations: Co-evolution between Diplomacy, PR and journalism. In: Corporate Communications, Online First July 2020, DOI 10.1108/CCIJ-11-2019-0129