The Inter-American Peace Committee: An Analysis of Its Structure and Function

The post-war era has been marked by a distinct trend towards institutionalized international organization. Ever since the days succeeding World War I, when the League of Nations .largely by the efforts of Woodrow Wilson. came into existence and when, as a result of the purposes of this universal institution, the concepts of "collective security" and "joint action" were hammered into the consciousness of men, this trend has continued on its way towards the goal of ultimate perfection. The sense of mutual interdependence has constantly been growing stronger within the community of nations, and this new awareness has brought into being a number of relevant institutions at a universal as well as at a regional level. These concrete manifestations of a perception of a new world order, in many respects deficient and still at their initial stage of development, may well be considered the only reliable guarantee of international peace and security in the present day world. It need hardly be said that to the extent that these international institutions contribute to the establishment of a permanent world order they will, at the same time, consolidate the very basis on which their own existence has to be founded.