The IBE: A Federating Platform

In 1925, the Institut Rousseau created the IBE in Geneva as a corporate association, supported by well-known persons from science, education and politics. The Institute’s Council presented it as a platform for federating associations, leagues and groups from civil society that aspired, like the Institut, to build peace through education. The chapter shows how its builders defined the contours of the IBE and attempted to ensure its viability as an umbrella agency for “social movements.” It identifies the convictions and aspirations that drove them, the controversies and setbacks that punctuated their daily lives, as well as the resistance and competition they encountered. Budget problems and the difficulty in federating international associations forced the IBE to change its strategy.