Joseph Kim
Exeter
Abstract
This paper investigates the inconsistency of U.S. foreign policy during the Paris Peace Agreements of 1919, specifically regarding its support of Czechoslovakia’s formation while denying the principle of self-determination to minority groups such as the ethnic Germans, Slovaks, and Carpatho-Ruthenians. This paper argues that this selective application of self-determination, backed by Czech independence advocates, was inconsistent. Through primary source analysis and historiographical review, this article demonstrates that the American delegation’s decision-making was rooted in geopolitical pragmatism using limited information rather than consistent democratic ideals.
