War and Peace Studies was a project carried out by the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

between 1939 and 1945 before and during American involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was intended to advise the U.S. Government on conduct in the war and the subsequent peace. The project was divided into four major areas: economic and financial, security and armaments, territorial, and political. Over 100 men took part. Funding was provided by the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

, which provided almost $350,000 over the course of the project. A steering committee was created in December 1939 chaired by U.S diplomat Norman Davis with ''Foreign Affairs'' editor

Hamilton Fish Armstrong Hamilton Fish Armstrong (April 7, 1893 – April 24, 1973) was an American diplomat and editor. Biography Armstrong attended Princeton University, then began a career in journalism at ''The New Republic''. During the First World War, he was ...

as vice-chairman. Initial area heads were: : *

Alvin Hansen Alvin Harvey Hansen (August 23, 1887 – June 6, 1975) was an American economist who taught at the University of Minnesota and was later a chair professor of economics at Harvard University. Often referred to as "the American Keynes", he was a w ...

and

Jacob Viner Jacob Viner (3 May 1892 – 12 September 1970) was a Canadian economist and is considered with Frank Knight and Henry Simons to be one of the "inspiring" mentors of the early Chicago school of economics in the 1930s: he was one of the leading fig ...

led the economic and financial group *

Whitney Shepardson Whitney Hart Shepardson (October 30, 1890 – May 29, 1966) was an American businessman and foreign policy expert. He headed the Secret Intelligence Branch of the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Shepardson was born in Worcester, ...

, who led the political group *

Allen Welsh Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles (, ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was the first civilian Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), and its longest-serving director to date. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the early Cold War, he ...

and Hanson W. Baldwin, who led the armaments group, and *

Isaiah Bowman Isaiah Bowman, AB, Ph. D. (December 26, 1878, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada – January 6, 1950, Baltimore, Maryland), was an American geographer and President of the Johns Hopkins University, 1935–1948, controversial for his antisemitism and ...

, who led the territorial group. A research secretary was appointed to each group: *William Diebold, for the economic and financial group *Walter R. Sharp, for the political group, and *

Grayson L. Kirk Grayson Louis Kirk (October 12, 1903 – November 21, 1997) was an American political scientist who served as president of Columbia University during the Columbia University protests of 1968. He was also an advisor to the State Department an ...

, for the armaments group *William P. Maddox, for the territorial group From March 1942, the project supplied research secretaries to the State Department's Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy, with each group's secretary serving the corresponding subcommittee at the State Department. Meetings were scheduled to allow secretaries to carry out Council work during the first half of each week with the remainder of the week spent at the Department of State.

References

External links

The Council on Foreign Relations from 1921 to 1996 - War and Peace

The Council on Foreign Relations and the Grand Area: Case Studies on the Origins of the IMF and the Vietnam War
by

G. William Domhoff George William "Bill" Domhoff (born August 6, 1936) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and research professor of psychology and sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a founding faculty member of UCSC's Cowell College. He i ...

1939 establishments in the United States 1945 disestablishments in the United States Agencies of the United States government during World War II Council on Foreign Relations Rockefeller Foundation {{US-org-stub