What has been done by the two Hague Conferences, and when will the next one be held?
How far can disarmament be carried out?
What standing-peace agreements have been executed?
What is the history of popular effort for international peace, and what peace societies exist to-day?
What are the present recognized limitations of international arbitration?
What are the first steps toward an era of universal peace?
What has been accomplished by the Pan-American Conferences?
International Affairs
On international affairs of to-day in which the United States has a special interest there is a wealth of information in the Britannica. The first topic that will naturally present itself to the mind of the reader is the Panama canal. On this see the article Panama Canal (Vol. 20, p. 666), with a large-scale map, a history of the project and a description of the engineering features; and on the politics, national and international, of the question of building the canal, the articles Colombia, Panama, Roosevelt, United States, History (Vol. 27, pp. 730 and 732), John Hay, and Pauncefote.
Our relations with Colombia in connection with the canal will naturally lead the student to a general consideration of the relation of the United States with the Latin-American countries. Here the most interesting factor is the Monroe Doctrine, which has been characterized “as one of the things that every one knows about but that few can explain.” Read the article Monroe Doctrine (Vol. 18, p. 738), by Dr. T. S. Woolsey, Professor of international law, Yale University; the article James Monroe (Vol. 18, p. 736), and, in the article United States, History § 156 (Vol. 27, p. 695).